Roy died of cardiac arrest at 1:30 am at a private hospital in Kolkata, as per news agency PTI.
He had been suffering from multiple ailments for an extended period. His son, Subhranshu Roy, said that he had been in a coma for the past several days.
Rise in Trinamool Congress
Mukul Roy was a founding member of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) when the party was established in 1998.
Over the years, he emerged as one of the closest associates of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and was widely regarded as the party’s second-in-command.
Often described as the “Chanakya” of Bengal politics for his organisational skills, Roy played a crucial role in the TMC’s rise, particularly during the Singur and Nandigram movements and the party’s landmark victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections 2011, as per News18.
Ministerial roles in UPA-2 and scams
During the United Progressive Alliance (UPA-2) government at the Centre, when the TMC was an ally, Roy held key ministerial portfolios.
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He served as Minister of State for Shipping in 2009 and later handled responsibilities in the Ministry of Railways. After Mamata Banerjee stepped down as Railway Minister to assume office as Chief Minister, Roy was given additional charge of the Railways Ministry. He served as railway minister in 2011.
Roy was elected twice to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal.
He was named in the Saradha chit fund scam and Narada sting operation, which became a reason for his relationship to be deteriorated with TMC leadership.
Shift to BJP and return
In 2017, Roy parted ways with the TMC amid internal differences and controversy linked to the Narada sting case.
He resigned from the party and later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in November 2017. He went on to become the BJP’s National Vice President in 2020 and played a key role in managing the party’s campaigns in West Bengal.
He contested the Assembly elections 2021 from Krishnanagar Uttar on a BJP ticket and won. However, after the results were declared, he returned to the TMC in June 2021 in the presence of Mamata Banerjee. He subsequently remained largely inactive in public life.
On November 13, 2025, the Calcutta High Court terminated his membership as an MLA on grounds of defection, as per News18.
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