Blow to TMC as senior, much-liked leader Tapas Roy quits party, felt ‘abandoned’ after ED raid

On his future plans, he said, “Politics will advance in a political way… Right now, I don’t know which party I’ll join. When I decide, I’ll let you know.”

Tapas Roy’s political sojourn began in Kolkata’s Surendranath College with the student organisation of the Congress in West Bengal, the Chhatra Parishad (CP). During a long stint as CP president in the 1990s, he worked closely with Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Pranab Mukherjee, Subrata Mukherjee, Mamata Banerjee, Somen Mitra and other Congress stalwarts of West Bengal.

He entered the state Assembly in 1996 by winning a by-election from the erstwhile Vidyasagar segment in Central Kolkata on a Congress ticket.

Congress spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy recalled, “I have worked with Tapas Roy. He was a guardian of small-time party workers, and never fled from any agitation. He used to stay on till the end, leaving only after all arrested workers had got bail. We could freely confide our criticisms of the party or any leader with him. Tapas da used to hear us out.”

He added, “Tapas da was a misfit in the TMC. He never got the respect he deserves from the TMC leadership.”

Having joined the TMC in 2000, Roy was elected to the Assembly for the first time the next year, from Barabazar, before winning thrice on the trot from Baranagar starting 2011.

TMC workers praise him as an articulate and organised, efficient leader, because of which he was chosen as the party’s deputy chief whip.

A senior TMC leader said, “Many party leaders who have made no contribution in West Bengal politics have been given important portfolios in the state Cabinet, but not Tapas da. Only once was he included in the Cabinet, but given the unimportant portfolio of Planning and Programme Implementation.”

He added, “Even then, Tapas da remained a loyal lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee. But since the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his house in January in connection with the municipal recruitment corruption case, he became a rebel. While neither Mamata Banerjee nor any other senior leader called up Roy even once after the ED raid, the CM gave (Sandeshkhali accused) Sheikh Shahjahan a character certificate in the Assembly.” WHAT DID SHE SAY?

After the ED raid, Roy claimed more than once that it had been “arranged” by leaders of his own party, with the finger of suspicion directed at party senior Sudip Banerjee.

Roy, who is seen as close to party No. 2 Abhishek Banerjee, has in the recent past also often directed his ire at Sudip and other veterans, including Sougata Roy over their age, echoing Abhishek’s views. However, it is believed within party circles that his anger at Sudip had more to do with the fact that even after having won from Barabazar in Central Kolkata in 2001, he was never given a ticket from prized seats like Bowbazar or Sealdah, and sent to Baranagar in the city outskirts; which he blamed on Sudip. In the past, he has said: “They thought I would be defeated from Baranagar, but thanks to the people, I’ve been elected thrice.”

After resigning on Monday, Roy mourned, “Everyone knows about my honesty in politics. That makes it unfortunate when my own party goes against me. I had an ED raid ‘arranged’ at home, but 52 days have passed, and I haven’t yet received a call from Mamata Banerjee. It makes my heart heavy.”

On Monday morning, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh — who has also spoken out against senior leaders in the party — and Education Minister Bratya Basu visited Roy’s house to talk to him. After the meeting, Ghosh said, “I have a personal relation with Tapas Roy. He always saw me as his own brother. I came here as a TMC worker and requested him to stay back in the party.”

CPI(M) leader and Politburo member Sujan Chakraborty said, “I have known him for a long time. I knew him since the time he was a CP leader and I was a leader in the SFI. Though the TMC is our political opponent, Roy was always courteous. His leaving the party shows that the TMC is now a party of strongmen and criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan, and has no place for ‘good’ politicians.”