A former investment banker, expelled MP Mahua Moitra can easily claim the newsmaker of the year title on all counts.
When Moitra, handpicked by Mamata Banerjee, quit the Congress to contest from Krishnanagar, a star was born. Articulate, vocal, savvy, and very aggressive on Twitter — now X — as well as inside Lok Sabha during discussions, Moitra faced two polar reactions: Either you hated her or supported her strongly.
The firebrand leader moved in the right circles and made quick and new friends such as Shashi Tharoor and Pinaki Mishra who were as articulate as her.
For Moitra, it has been a long journey from the drawing board to the heat and dust of a rural constituency like Nadia. Born in Assam, she went to the US for studies. Moitra worked as an investment banker in JP Morgan but soon, ‘maati’ beckoned her and she joined the Congress. She later quit to join the maa, maati, maanush party — Trinamool Congress. After winning assembly polls, she finally contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election and won with a margin of over 63,000 votes.
The feisty Moitra has always been a child of controversy, often putting her party and leader in a fix. For instance, the leader kicked off a row when she said she worshipped Maa Kali, a goddess who eats meat and drinks. The TMC was quick to distance itself from her. Moitra also hit headlines when Banerjee pulled her up at a party event in Nadia, asking her to be a team player.
Moitra never had too many friends in her own party. Her brashness, aggression, and feisty speeches not only made her popular but also brought jealous critics her way.
So, when the “fall” happened, many seemed happy in private. The unraveling began over a pet Rottweiler named Henry. Moitra’s former close friend Jai Anant Dehadrai complained that she had snatched his dog and kept him captive. Then followed a complaint to the Speaker along with one filed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey that Moitra had taken expensive gifts and money to ask the right questions in Parliament to benefit her businessman friend Darshan Hiranandani who is based in Dubai. Moitra was accused of giving the log-in details of her Parliament website, allowing Hiranandani to ask questions to defame both Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
All hell broke loose. The matter was referred to an ethics committee. True to her style, Moitra walked out of the committee meeting, accusing BJP members of ‘cheer haran’ or humiliating her as a woman.
Her party did a slow U-turn. Initially, the TMC maintained distance, saying they would wait for the report to be out. Then, in a change of strategy, they backed Moitra, calling her a victim of political witch-hunt. The woman card was used and she also got support from opposition parties. The ethics committee recommended her expulsion. Her farewell speech of sorts captured what she has always been — an angry leader who minces no words. Quoting from Kazi Nazrul Islam, Moitra delivered her parting shot that she will be back soon.
As she battles legal hurdles, Henry returns to Dehadrai, and Hiranandani’s affidavit confirms he has access to her log-in details, Moitra is almost like a lone ranger though she refuses to go down without a fight.
The year 2023 will be remembered for this fiery woman who entered the complicated, murky Delhi Page 3 circuit but somehow lost her way. A former friend revealed to News18: “She is the quintessential celeb. A brilliant intelligent woman who lost her way in the dark alleys of Delhi politics.”
Till then, 2023 will remember the woman who frequently let her heart and mouth rule her head and mind.
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