Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary lashed out at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections were revealed on Monday (May 4). The Bengal cricket legend was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) after winning a seat from the Shibpur constituency in the 2021 polls. He was also appointed as the minister of state (MOS) for affairs of sports and youth.
However, the ex-Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star did not contest the elections this time around. He revealed that TMC asked candidates to pay ₹5 crores to get a ticket, and he refused to do that.
"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 secto Only those who could pay hefty money could buy tickets. At least 70-72 candidates this time paid around Rs 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," said Tiwary in an interaction with the Press Trust of India (PTI).
He revealed that he has quit the TMC and further claimed that he was not interested in joining politics and did so because outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee insisted. He revealed before contesting the 2021 assembly polls, he was even offered a ticket for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
"As far as TMC is concerned, that chapter is over (for me). At that time, I had played for Punjab Kings in the IPL and was still playing Ranji Trophy seriously when Didi (Mamata) wanted me to contest 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 added.
He claimed that the MOS position did not mean anything and his words were not heard in party meetings. He also pointed out that development work was stalled and claimed he had to pay from his own pocket to get some work completed in his constituency.
"I have attended meetings where all TMC ministers were summoned. Now I was given a Lollypop called MoS which basically meant nothing. If I stood up and said 'Didi I want to draw your attention to a certain problem', she would just stop us midway and say 'I don't have time for you people'," said Tiwary.
"Being a sitting MLA, I would run from pillar to post for drainage work in my constituency but people who controlled Howrah Municipality for years without allowing elections to happen, never cared. They would simply stall developmental work which is very basic. I can tell you that some of the work that I got done was not just from MLA fund but also I paid from my own pocket to complete projects. Every year Didi would announce a Master Plan for upgradation of underground drainage system but that was it, just lip service," Tiwary added.
Meanwhile, Tiwary lashed out at cabinet minister of youth and sports Aroop Biswas and claimed he had no knowledge about sports. For those unversed, Biswas found himself at the center of controversy after chaos erupted at Lionel Messi's visit to Kolkata last year. Tiwary claimed he did not attend the event because he feared something like this could happen.
"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 in sports pages and from next Durand Cup, I wouldn't get any invite,.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
