New Delhi: Former Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy died at Apollo Hospital in Salt Lake, Kolkata virtually 1:30 am on Sunday morning. The rationalization of death was cardiac arrest. His son Subhranshu Roy confirmed the news. Mukul Roy was ill for a long time and had plane gone into slumber a few days ago.
Since when was Mukul Roy unwell?
Mukul Roy's health was very bad for the last two years. He had dementia. He forgot plane familiar faces. Liquid supplies was stuff given through a Ryle's tube. He kept going from hospital to home. The funeral will take place at home on Monday.
Why was Mukul Roy tabbed 'Chanakya of Bengal politics'?
Mukul Roy was Mamata Banerjee's most trusted man. He had a big role in forming Trinamool Congress in 1998. He was considered number two in the party. His strategy worked in defeating the Left Front and forming the TMC government in Bengal in 2011. He became the Minister of State for Shipping at the Center in UPA-2, then moreover the Railway Minister for a few months in 2012.
But without his name appeared in Saradha chit fund and Narada sting, the loftiness from Mamta increased. He was expelled from the party in 2015. He switched to BJP in 2017. This step brought a storm in Bengal politics. Mukul Roy strengthened the roots of BJP, tapped many big leaders, and got 18 seats for BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha. He had a lot of contribution in making BJP the main opposition party in Bengal. People tabbed him 'Chanakya of Bengal'.
Then why did you return to Trinamool Congress?
Won Krishnanagar seat from BJP in 2021 Assembly. But his grip on the party started loosening. Suvendu Adhikari returned to TMC in June 2021 within a month without stuff made the Leader of Opposition. Mamta had then said, "Mukul is our old boy; old is gold." But this homecoming could not do much.
How did the political journey end?
In 2023, due to dementia, he said in Delhi that he is still a BJP MLA. In 2025, the Calcutta High Court ruled him from the post of MLA—as returning to TMC was versus the anti-defection law.
Mukul Roy's name will be remembered for a long time in Bengal politics - on one hand, Mamata's most confidant, on the other hand, the strategist who gave new strength to BJP.
