JOIN USShunted and relegated to nothing more than a general member of the Trinamool Congress, Mukul Roy is all set to float his own party.
The buzz in West Bengal’s political circle is that Roy, once second-in-command of the ruling party, could launch his outfit within a month and the ground work has already begun.
Although Roy himself is tight-lipped about it, some Trinamool leaders ready to switch sides claimed that they have already been approached in this regard.
According to insiders, Roy could launch his party even before the elections for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), scheduled for April 18. Although it is not yet clear whether he will field candidates in the polls for the KMC and other municipal bodies, sources said Roy’s outfit could align itself with the BJP and provide the saffron party an level-playing ground against the Trinamool.
While insiders informed that Roy will finalise the name and symbol of the new outfit, it could be named Ganatantrik Trinamool Congress or Democratic Trinamool Congress, in a bid to project that his party will not run on the whims of one person (read Chief Minister and party chairperson Mamata Banerjee), which is how detractors and party dissidents describe functioning of the Trinamool. A prominent artist from Kolkata has reportedly been approached to design the party’s logo.
Amid speculations, dissident Trinamool leader from Murshidabad Humayun Kabir said Roy has already asked him to take up responsibility of the north Bengal district unit of new party.
“Dada (Roy) has asked me to become the president of his party in Murshidabad. We’re sure there will be no adjustment with the Congress but there is a possibility of an understanding with the BJP,” said Kabir, who held the Animal Husbandry Department before losing a bypoll some years ago. Once a close aide of Congress state president Adhir Chowdhury, he switched over to Trinamool in 2012.