Mukul Roy's Disqualification: The Fall of Bengal's Political 'Chanakya'

The Calcutta High Court disqualified senior TMC leader Mukul Roy as an MLA under the anti-defection law. Once known as Bengal's 'Chanakya' for orchestrating political defections, Roy's influence waned due to ill health. The ruling underscores his fall from political prominence amid a backdrop of past defections.

The Calcutta High Court recently delivered a judgment steeped in political irony, disqualifying senior TMC leader Mukul Roy as an MLA under the anti-defection law, a statute Roy once wielded with dexterity. This ruling marks a poignant chapter in Bengal politics, highlighting the stark contrast between Roy's former influence and his current frailty.

Mukul Roy, once hailed as the 'Chanakya of Bengal politics,' played a pivotal role in engineering defections that helped TMC consolidate power after its 2011 victory. The ruling comes as Roy remains absent from the political scene, hospitalised and in poor health, a shadow of his once formidable self.

The disqualification ruling reflects a full-circle moment, as the anti-defection law now turns on Roy, who had mastered it for political gains. It also emphasizes the decline of a strategist whose maneuvers shaped West Bengal's political landscape for decades.

(With inputs from agencies.)