From Trinamool Founder to BJP MLA: The Political Journey of Mukul Roy
Updated: Feb 26
Veteran West Bengal politician Mukul Roy, a founding member of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and former Union Minister, passed away early Sunday at a private hospital in Kolkata after a prolonged illness. He was 71.
According to his son, Subhrangshu Roy, the senior leader had been undergoing treatment for multiple health complications, including kidney-related ailments. He reportedly suffered a heart attack around 1:30 am and could not be revived.
A Key Architect of TMC’s Rise
Born on April 17, 1954, in West Bengal, Roy began his political journey in the Youth Congress, where he developed close ties with Mamata Banerjee. When Banerjee broke away from the Indian National Congress in 1998 to form the TMC, Roy stood by her side as one of the party’s founding members and key strategists.
Though he lost his first Assembly election from Jagatdal in 2001, Roy went on to play a crucial organisational role in building the party’s base across West Bengal. In 2006, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha and later became the leader of the TMC parliamentary party.
Stint in the Union Government
During the second UPA government led by Manmohan Singh, Roy served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping and later in the Ministry of Railways. After Mamata Banerjee became Chief Minister of West Bengal, she recommended Roy for the Railways portfolio to retain it within the party.
In 2012, following the resignation of Dinesh Trivedi over a controversial fare hike, Roy was elevated to Railway Minister and rolled back the fare increase. However, his tenure was cut short when the TMC withdrew support from the UPA government later that year.
Political Shifts and Controversies
Roy’s political journey saw dramatic turns. Differences with the TMC leadership surfaced in 2015 amid investigations into the Saradha chit fund case and the Narada sting operation. In 2017, he resigned from the TMC and later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He subsequently resigned from the Rajya Sabha.
In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Roy contested as a BJP candidate and won. However, in a surprise move, he rejoined the TMC just weeks later. The decision sparked legal and political controversy over his status in the Assembly. In 2022, the Speaker rejected a plea to disqualify him under the anti-defection law after his lawyer claimed he remained with the BJP.
In November 2025, the Calcutta High Court cancelled his MLA membership on grounds of defection marking another dramatic chapter in his long political career.
A Polarising Yet Influential Figure
From being a trusted lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee to switching sides and returning again, Mukul Roy’s political life reflected the turbulence of West Bengal politics over the past two decades. Supporters remember him as a master organiser who helped shape the TMC’s early success, while critics often pointed to the controversies that shadowed his later years.
His passing marks the end of a significant and eventful political chapter in West Bengal.
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