Former India batter Manoj Tiwary revealed that he has quit the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), a day after the party lost the West Bengal state assembly elections. Tiwary, who was the junior sports minister of Bengal, alleged that he was denied a ticket from Howrah’s Shibpur constituency after he refused to pay INR 5 crore.
Mamata Banerjee-led TMC went out of power on Monday after losing to the BJP in the West Bengal elections. The result marked an end to TMC’s 15-year rule in the state. Tiwary made severe allegations against the party, claiming corruption within it and saying that this was the major reason behind the BJP’s rise in the state.
“Look, I am not at all surprised by this debacle. This was bound to happen when an entire party has indulged in corrupt practices, and there was no development in any sector,” Tiwary told news agency PTI.
“Only those who could pay hefty money could buy tickets. At least 70-72 candidates this time paid around ₹five crore to get a ticket. I was asked, but I refused to pay. Just check how many of those who paid up have managed to win. As far as TMC is concerned, that chapter is over (for me),” he added.
The 40-year-old also revealed that he had no plans to enter politics. He was first offered a Lok Sabha Ticket by TMC in 2019. He eventually won by contesting from Shibpur in the 2021 assembly polls.
“At that time, I had played for Punjab Kings in the IPL and was still playing Ranji Trophy seriously when Didi (Mamata Banerjee) wanted me to contest the Lok Sabha. I had politely declined but before the 2021 elections, Didi once again called and told me ‘Manoj, I have a message for you and Aroop will tell you’. I was asked to contest from Shibpur, and I thought that I could make a meaningful change,” Tiwary recalled.
The Lionel Messi event fiasco
Earlier this year, Kolkata came into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after the event featuring Lionel Messi was badly mismanaged at the Salt Lake Stadium. There was utter chaos at the venue, prompting the Argentine superstar to leave early. Following Messi’s departure, fans resorted to breaking chairs and other stadium fixtures.
Tiwary also levelled serious allegations against outgoing sports minister Aroop Biswas, revealing that he had no clue about the state’s sporting ecosystem.
“Aroop Da doesn’t know A, B, C, D of any sport. There would be functions where both Aroop da and I would be invited, and I would not be called on the dais. There was one Durand Cup unveiling where my pictures were flashed on sports pages, and from the next Durand Cup, I wouldn’t get any invite,” he said.
“I knew something like this would happen and refrained from attending the event (Lionel Messi). I didn’t want to be part of an event where common people were taken for a ride. I would repeatedly ask Aroop da, ‘Dada please introduce a sports policy as per allocated budget’. He never bothered,” he added.
Speaking of Biswas, he lost to BJP candidate Papia Adhikary by 6,000 votes.