Bengal Election: TMC MLA Debasree Roy Resigns From Party After Ticket Snub

Actor-politician Debasree Roy resigned as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday after the party skipped giving her a ticket to contest assembly elections in West Bengal this year. Roy was a twice-elected MLA from Raidighi constituency, South 24 Parganas, a role she had been in since 2011.

News agency ANI shared a copy of Roy's resignation letter, which

West Bengal: Trinamool Congress MLA Debasree Roy resigns from the party. pic.twitter.com/eSZ0agphra

— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2021 "I’m severing all my ties with the Trinamool Congress. Since I’m not in any post, so I don’t have to tender my resignation to any post. But I ask to be freed from the responsibilities I held as a MLA from Raidighi for the past 10 years. I am quitting the party because I was not allowed to work for the general public for a long time."

West Bengal: Trinamool Congress MLA Debasree Roy resigns from the party. pic.twitter.com/eSZ0agphra

— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2021

The TMC released its 291-member candidate list for the Bengal election in early March. While the candidature comprised a diverse mix (see the 50 women candidates here), TMC notably dropped over 20 sitting MLAs to replace them for younger faces. Roy is one of many TMC leaders who have thus resigned for not being given a party ticket.

Who Is Debasree Roy?

Debasree Roy is a distinguished actor in the Bengali and Hindi film industries. She made her debut in 1966 and has since worked in over a hundred films, even winning a National Award for her contribution to cinema. Her most notable films include 36 Chowringhee Lane, Bhalobasa Bhalobasa, Troyee. She even appeared in BR Chopra's television epic Mahabharata. 

When TMC took the reins of Bengal in 2011 following a landslide win, thus ending the 34-year-long rule of the Left-Front, Roy was elected in Raigidhi over former minister Kanti Ganguly from CPI(M).