Siddharthya Roy

Opinionated chicken farmer given to sudden bursts of politically inconvenient journalism.📕

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Godspeed, Earth.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Hello?

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

@RelianceDigital Hi. Please check your DMs. I've been trying to get support over email and all I've gotten are new ticket numbers with lots of silence in between.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

@ThePrintIndia has crunched some data agreeing with my observation:

[ThePrintIndia @ThePrintIndia]

1/6: ThePrint analysed constituency-level data from across West Bengal to understand performance of the major parties, particularly to evaluate the impact of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

I was been in Bengal since Nov 2025 till the election results day. Saw the SIR process roll out and TMC's ground work to counter deletions from very close quarters.

No SIR is not the direct reason for loss of the so called "Muslim vote" that's taken for granted to be a TMC voting monolith.

Yes, SIR was done shoddy and rushed not giving voters enough time and opportunity for redressal.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

@Memeghnad Any other analysis may not suit your political stance, but they exist and are needed.

https://t.co/fii5YaIiIr

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Blunt truth: the communal-secular binary carpet under which every aspect of politics is swept needs to be replaced.

Approximately 31.1 lakh Muslim voters and 57.47 lakh Hindu voters���nearly double—were deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rolls through SIR.

Why did that work in BJP’s favor against TMC?

Finer analysis matters. Taking Muslim’s fear of the BJP and therefore their votes for granted, while doing nothing else, doesn’t work anymore.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

@darab_farooqui If lack of development and turning states into 'UP/Bihar backwardness' is a BJP distinction, why aren't Maharashtra and Gujarat that way despite long tenures of BJP rule?

https://t.co/NY1dhK70Oc

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

https://t.co/Ejglv9OcJC

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

If lack of development and turning states into UP/Bihar is a BJP distinction, why aren't Maharashtra and Gujarat that way?

https://t.co/NY1dhK70Oc

[Darab Farooqui @darab_farooqui]

Bengalis should be happy, now Bengal will be as developed as UP and Bihar.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Bengal being ruled from Delhi was Mamata Banerjee's dream for the majority of her political career.

From 1998 to 2011, Mamata Banerjee maintains the distinction of having repeatedly demanded dissolution of the elected state government and/or central government intervention to override the elected state government.

More than any other opposition politician in the history of independent Bengal.

September 2000: She demanded invocation of Article 355 (Centre’s duty to protect states from internal disturbance) followed by President’s Rule under Article 356.

January 2001: On/around January 4, a TMC delegation led by her met PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee demanding immediate President’s Rule and a CBI probe.

June 16, 2003: After TMC’s defeat in by-elections, she demanded President’s Rule at a Kolkata rally.

December 2006: She demanded a CBI probe into Tapasi Malik rape and murder case, stating the state CID could not be impartial under the state givernment.

March 2007: Publicly demanded President’s Rule, citing police firings, attacks on women/SC/ST/minorities, farmer suicides. She announced plans to raise it in Parliament, meet the President/PM, and warned of “civil war.” Also wrote letters to PM Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil demanding they stop “state-sponsored violence”.

October 2007: After the mysterious death of computer graphics student Rizwanur Rahman she visited the family and demanded a CBI probe alleging (without proof) state police complicity and bias.

October 27–28, 2009: As Railway Minister (UPA) but state opposition leader, met Home Minister P. Chidambaram demanding immediate President’s Rule (Article 355 then 356) to “save democracy,” citing CPM-Maoist nexus, police violence, and cop kidnappings. This was when Maoist Koteshwar Rao aka Kishenji was supporting her CM candidature.

May 15, 2010: Reiterated demand for advancing the 2011 assembly elections effectively pushing for early dissolution/fresh polls.

May 2011: TMC MPs met the President demanding President’s Rule due to “state-sponsored violence”. Her demands grew “more strident” amid clashes ahead of the polls but vanished the moment her party won.

[Ajay Kamath @ajay43]

Bengal will be ruled from Delhi, and this is going to be a novel and uncomfortable experience for it’s people

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

@ajay43 This was Mamata Banerjee's dream for the majority of her political career.

She maintains the distinction of having demanded dissolution of the elected state government more than any other opposition politician.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

https://t.co/Ejglv9OcJC

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Blunt truth: the communal-secular binary carpet under which every aspect of politics is swept needs to be replaced.

Approximately 31.1 lakh Muslim voters and 57.47 lakh Hindu voters—nearly double—were deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rolls through SIR.

Why did that work in BJP’s favor against TMC?

Finer analysis matters. Taking Muslim’s fear of the BJP and therefore their votes for granted, while doing nothing else, doesn’t work anymore.

[Nilanjana Roy 📚🦊 @nilanjanaroy]

Blunt truth: 90 lakh voters were cut from the rolls before WB voted.

Assume even half were genuine. In an election where winning margins were as low as 5,000-10,000.

No idea whether they were voting for TMC 1.0 or TMC 2.0. But that missing voter? Only "analysis" that counts.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

In short: The agitation delivered a body blow to Bengal's economy and future.

Not only the immediate sunk costs and compensation liability (₹1,800cr+ invested + ₹766cr+ award), foregone jobs (10k–20k+) from which Bengal never recovered, but massive opportunity loss in manufacturing.

Singur became the scarring symbol of West Bengal’s anti-industrial sentiment. It also became a direct gift to Gujarat—Sanand plant was completed in a record 14 months as opposed to 28+ months in Singur amounting to nothing.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Even in defeat, Mamata Banerjee remains utterly unique:

The only politician in India who became a CM by shutting down a factory that would’ve given livelihoods to tens of thousands.

PS: Singur voted for BJP.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Employment & Growth Impact

Projected direct + indirect jobs: 10,000–20,000 (estimates varied; core plant ~1,000–2,000 + vendor ecosystem).

The project promised jobs to land-losing families. Post-exit, many locals reported migration for work, with Singur still struggling with unemployment 17+ years later.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Feb 2009: Left CM Bhattacharjee laid the foundation stone for the East-West Metro (Howrah–Sealdah–Sector V corridor), a major urban infra project backed by central funding and JICA.

A politician pressured UPA-I to withdraw funding, arguing the “debt-laden” state shouldn’t get central money.

Then as railway Minister weeks later, she used her authority to block construction of key stations at Howrah and Sealdah (critical for connectivity and passenger benefit).

Guess who the politician was.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

May 2009: Cyclone Aila devastated West Bengal.

The storm killed over 100 and displaced and damaged the lives of millions. CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee sought central assistance for disaster relief.

Guess which politician/central minister publicly urged PM Manmohan Singh not to release the funds and called the calamity a "man made disaster"?

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

@nilanjanaroy :))

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

I don’t call this gallows humor—I call this survivalist humor.

[Siddharthya Roy @siddharthyaroy]

Response from an old friend who’s a very senior IPS officer from Bengal.

Response to me asking him about his opinion on the exit polls and their prediction.