Roy likely to get key post in Trinamul & RS seat too
May soon be appointed as the national vice president of the Trinamul
Close on the heels of his return to Trinamul Congress from BJP, Krishnanagar North MLA Mukul Roy is set to get a double promotion — one in the party and another in parliament — from his party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for his political acumen.
According to sources, Roy, who has not got any post since his comeback, is expected to be appointed as the national vice president of the TMC, a post he held in the BJP till four days ago, in view of his countrywide network and the party’s ambition to expand in other states and become a formidable player in the national politics ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
On June 11, when Roy rejoined the TMC, Banerjee indicated that he would be given an equivalent post to what he had in the BJP.
In November 2017 when he had quit the TMC, his post was national general secretary in the party then.
TMC insiders revealed that Roy, who held a oneto-one meeting with the CM’s MP nephew and newly appointed national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday, would start working at the national level once his appointment to the new post is done.
Later, the former railway minister is likely to be fielded by the TMC as it’s candidate in one of the two Rajya Sabha seats which fell vacant after Dinesh Trivedi’s resignation as an Upper House
MP in February and switch to the BJP and election of Manas Bhuniya as an MLA in the West Bengal Assembly polls.
In that case, Roy, who earlier served as a Rajya Sabha MP also, would have to resign as an MLA which he has become for the first time. The BJP is however planning to target him legally over his defection to the TMC as a legislator. Roy said that his party would take a decision about making him a candidate for the Rajya Sabha.
A senior TMC
leader pointed out on anonymity that the double promotion to Roy would also send a signal to the BJP about how much importance it gives to an efficient functionary like him with rewards.
When Roy was in the BJP, he apparently desired to be a Rajya Sabha member and get a cabinet berth also apart from holding a party post. But his wish was ignored then. For the second Rajya Sabha seat, the TMC has plans to make Yashwant Sinha it’s candidate, sources claimed.