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NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday appointed veteran parliamentarian Saugata Roy as its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, filling the post that fell vacant after Satabdi Roy joined the rebel camp that later aligned with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).The appointment comes amid a major organisational reshuffle in the TMC’s parliamentary ranks following the rebellion by 20 MPs, prompting changes in the party’s leadership structure in Parliament.Satabdi Roy, who had been serving as the TMC’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, was among the MPs who joined the rebel camp, necessitating the appointment of a new deputy leader.Saugata Roy is one of the TMC’s most senior parliamentarians and has been a prominent voice for the party in the Lok Sabha on political and policy issues.A retired physics professor, Roy is a five-time Lok Sabha MP and currently represents the Dum Dum constituency in West Bengal.He first entered the Lok Sabha in 1977 from Barrackpore. He later served as an MLA for five consecutive terms between 1987 and 2009 before returning to Parliament in 2009 from Dum Dum, a seat he has retained in successive elections.Before joining the Trinamool Congress, Roy was associated with the Congress.During his political career, Roy served as the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Chemicals in the Charan Singh government and later as the Union Minister of State for Urban Development in the UPA government led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.He has also been a five-time member of the West Bengal Legislative assembly.
