Aroop Biswas made it to The New York Times on Saturday but the 61-year-old sports minister of Bengal, one of the trusted aides of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, will definitely not like the attention.
His party and government were left red-faced after the mess that unfolded at the Salt Lake stadium during the big-ticket event held for Lionel Messi.
Angry fans ran amok, clashing with police, after the Argentine football star could barely be seen from the stands because he was surrounded by a phalanx of people, among whom was Aroop Biswas.
“The government has ordered an investigation into this matter. An investigation is going on, and I will not comment on anything,” The New York Times quoted the minister as telling “local media”.
Importance of being Aroop Biswas
Trinamool insiders say Biswas is one of the only two men in the party whose loyalty towards Mamata is unquestionable, and the chief minister feels so as well.
“Mamata di has never doubted the loyalty of Aroop and Balu [former minister Jyotipriya Mullick]. Aroop has reaped the benefit too,” said a Trinamool insider.
Aroop Biswas is a giant killer within his party. In 2006, he replaced Pankaj Banerjee, then leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, in the Tollygunge seat and became a first-time MLA.
It helped Biswas gain clout in the local film and television industry, which is based in his constituency. He was instrumental in ensuring a victory for singer-turned-politician Kabir Suman, the Trinamool nominee for the Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat, in 2009.
In the Assembly, Biswas was part of Mamata’s shouting brigade.
The sports department brought him in close contact with local clubs across the state, which have played a key role in Mamata’s successive election victories.
His star really began to shine in 2013 with the arrest of Madan Mitra, the former state sports minister, in connection with the Saradha scam.
At an event held at the Netaji Indoor stadium soon after, Mamata had announced Aroop’s name to liaise between the government and sports personalities.
By June 2015, he was important enough for party veteran Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay to be at the receiving end of Mamata's wrath for getting involved in a spat with him in the Assembly corridor.
Trinamool insiders say Biswas played a key role in convincing former cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla to contest the Assembly election on a Trinamool ticket in 2016.
Post the Trinamool’s landslide victory in the 2016 Assembly elections overcoming the Saradha-Narada scam taints, Biswas emerged as the biggest winner.
He bagged the portfolios of public works, youth affairs and sports. In 2021, he also got the power department.
The brother, and Bobby
“He has been free from any baggage of scams and suchlike,” a Trinamool source said about Aroop Biswas.
“He will do whatever Didi tells him to do. If Didi blames him for what happened today at the Salt Lake stadium, he will accept it.”
In the past there have been complaints against the minister’s younger brother, Swarup, over allegedly leaning on traders in New Alipore when funds for Durga Puja are needed or if someone is trying to set up a new business.
The local police have often been accused of looking the other way.
For 25 years, since he first became a councillor in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation on a Trinamool ticket from Ward 81, Aroop, his younger brother, Swarup, and Swarup’s wife Jui have been synonymous with New Alipore.
Aroop was Mamata’s go-to man for all things Tollywood for years before he passed the baton to his younger brother, Swarup Biswas, chairman of the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India.
Following the departure of Mukul Roy, the disgraceful exit of former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and the roaming status of former Calcutta mayor Sovan Chatterjee, the only rival for Aroop in the party is Firhad “Bobby” Hakim, the current mayor of Calcutta.
The rivalry between Aroop Biswas, who was all over the Messi event, and Hakim, who was conspicuously absent, is not new.
In 2011, Aroop sulked for a while as he was not inducted into the cabinet while Hakim got the coveted urban development and municipal affairs portfolio.
Aroop was later inducted as youth affairs minister with additional charge of the housing department.
Both Aroop and Bobby have been engaged in a turf battle of whose Durga Puja gets more footfall, Aroop’s Suruchi Sangha or Bobby’s Chetla Agrani.
Will the Messi mess cost Aroop Biswas?
“For Didi, Aroop’s election management is crucial,” said a senior Trinamool insider.
“She will weigh many things before making a decision. The impact of today’s incident might well be felt after the polls when she forms the next cabinet. Whether she considers Aroop guilty or has forgiven him will be known then.”