Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is underway, and recently, last night, the assembly election results of five states were released, including West Bengal, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed its new government by ousting the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). Following the results, former India cricketer and TMC MLA Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday said the “TMC chapter is over” for him.
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cricketer was denied a ticket from Shibpur constituency in Howrah for refusing to pay Rs 5 crore to the former ruling party in West Bengal. He was earlier the Minister of State for Sports in the Mamata Banerjee-led government. While talking to PTI, Manoj Tiwari openly exposed the bribery of TMC.
I am not surprised at all- Manoj Tiwari
Tiwari told PTI in an interview, “Look, I am not at all surprised by this defeat. This was bound to happen when an entire party was involved in corrupt practices and there was no development in any area.
He declared, “Only those who can pay the huge amount can buy the ticket. This time at least 70-72 candidates paid around Rs 5 crore to get the ticket. I was asked, but I refused to pay. Just check how many of those who paid managed to win. As far as TMC is concerned, that chapter is over for me.”
I politely refused – Manoj Tiwari
Tiwari said he had no intention of entering politics despite being offered the Lok Sabha seat by TMC in 2019. He eventually contested and won the 2021 assembly elections from Shibpur. “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 the Lok Sabha elections.”
”I politely declined, but before the 2021 elections, Didi once again called and told me, ‘Manoj, I have a message for you and Arup will tell you.’ I was asked to contest from Shibpur, and I thought I could bring a meaningful change,” Tiwari recalled.
TMC ministers were called – Manoj Tiwari
Manoj Tiwari also alleged that the previous ruling party lacked internal democracy, and his appeal on the long-standing issue of failure of sewage and drainage systems in Howrah district was ignored.
“I have attended meetings where all the TMC ministers were called. I was given a lollipop called MOS, which basically meant nothing. If I would stand up and say, ‘Didi, I want to draw your attention to a certain problem,’ she would interrupt us and say, ‘I don’t have time for you guys.’
“Being a sitting MLA, I would run from pillar to post for drainage work in my constituency, but those who controlled Howrah Municipality for years without holding elections never cared about it.
“They will simply stop the developmental work, which is very basic. I can tell you that whatever work I got done was not just from MLA funds, but I also paid from my own pocket to complete the projects.”
Also read: Manoj Tiwari put Rishabh Pant under the scanner for not selecting Arjun Tendulkar in the playing eleven.