Trinamool might be eyeing national role for Mukul Roy, Rajya Sabha seat likely

© Provided by The Indian Express

While Mukul Roy has made his homecoming to the Trinamool Congress, there is no clarity yet how and in what capacity he would be accommodated in the ruling party. Will he be given a similarly important role as he was when he joined the BJP in 2017? Will he remain an MLA or is there a bigger responsibility awaiting him in the Parliament?

Amid these questions swirling in the corridors of the Trinamool headquarters, Mukul on Saturday called on the party’s new Number 2 and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The meeting lasted for at least an hour.

A source in the Trinamool said, “As reward for returning to the Trinamool, Mukul Roy may be made the national vice-president of the party. What’s more, he may be provided with Z+ security by the Bengal government while his son Subhranshu might get Y+ security. However, he wrote to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday asking for his ‘Z category’ security to be withdrawn. From this morning, state police has stepped up security outside his residence.”

Rejoining the Trinamool in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek at Trinamool Bhavan on Friday, Mukul said, “I am happy to be back with my old party. It’s good to be back with the old party members after a long time.”

The Trinamool supremo said, “We welcome Mukul Roy. He will play an important role in the party.”

Top News Right Now

Click here for more

A senior Trinamool leader said on Saturday, “After his meeting with Abhishek Banerjee, the party will decide what responsibility is to be vested in Mukul Roy going forward. Eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, we are focussing on extending our footprint beyond Bengal and Roy could make the job a lot easier as he is well connected to other states and has always believed in taking the party forward.”

“If the party decides to assign Mukul Roy the task of spreading our organisation across the country then he may resign as MLA and get a ticket to Rajya Sabha. Senior leader Yashwant Sinha, who also joined the party recently, may also get a seat in the Upper House,” he added.

Making his electoral debut in the recent Assembly election on a BJP ticket, Mukul was elected an MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar constituency. Though he remains a BJP MLA, the saffron party might seek cancellation of his MLA-ship. However, the ultimate decision rests with the Speaker. He may or may not cancel his MLA-ship. The Trinamool might want him to continue as an MLA and the Speaker may select him as head of the Public Accounts Committee, a post, which by convention, goes to the Opposition party. However, the BJP has already proposed another MLA, economist Ashok Lahiri, for the post.