Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, 21 MAY: Former legislative member for five times from Santipur assembly constituency and prominent Trinamul Congress leader Ajay Dey, who had tested positive for Covid-19 in the last week of April, died at a private hospital in Kolkata today.
He was 69.
When the news of his untimely demise broke, there were shock waves in political circles throughout the Nadia district. Hundreds of followers and fans paid their tributes in the social media and political leaders remembered him paying floral tributes in their party offices.
Dey was first tested positive for Covid-19 on 25 April and he was in home quarantine. On 29 April, he complained of acute breathing problems and chest pain and he was immediately taken to the Saktinagar district hospital. But, in the afternoon, his oxygen saturation level in the blood came down drastically and shortness of breath occurred. The doctors examining him then advised to shift him to a Kolkata hospital for better supportive treatment. Since then, he was admitted in a private hospital in Kolkata and today he breathed his last this morning.
Dey came into politics in 1985 when his elder brother Asamanja Dey, who was a Congress MLA, was murdered allegedly by Naxalites in Santipur. Dey was basically an employee of West Bengal State Electricity Board. After resigning from his government job, Dey directly entered politics and became a Congress candidate in 1986 assembly polls. But, he was defeated in the poll. He then contested in the municipal poll as a Congress candidate and became chairman of the Santipur municipality. He was chairman of the Santipur municipality for six consecutive terms.
Dey, who was a celibate, was first elected as a Congress MLA from Santipur assembly constituency in 1991. He was MLA for five consecutive times till 2016.
In 2013, he deserted the Congress and joined the Trinamul Congress. In 2014, he resigned from MLA and contested in the by-election as a TMC candidate. In the by-election, he won the poll and became a TMC MLA till 2016.
In 2016, Dey contested against the Congress candidate Arindam Bhattacharya, but he lost the poll. In the last assembly polls, Dey contested against BJP candidate Jagannath Sarkar but he could not win.
