‘I was devastated after seeing the plight of migrant labourers’ – Manoj Tiwary on his decision to join politics

Manoj Tiwary, the veteran Bengal cricketer, stated that he made the decision to ply his trade in politics after he witnessed the plight of the migrant labourers during the lockdown amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The Howrah-born, on Sunday, May 2, won his first state assembly elections from the Shibpur constituency.

He emerged triumphant by a margin of over 6000 votes over Rathin Chakraborty, his nearest rival from the Bharatiya Janata Party. Tiwary stated that BJP, earlier, had approached him, but he didn’t pay heed to their call. He also lashed out at BJP for not being able to step up in the coronavirus pandemic.

No way could I have responded to BJP’s call: Manoj Tiwary

“Yes, BJP had approached me but when I saw the plight of migrant labourers who were left in the lurch by the sitting central government, joining them would be not being honest to my ideals and beliefs. I was devastated by what I saw. People dead on railway tracks. It was very difficult to accept that.

“No way could I have responded to BJP’s call. They didn’t fulfil any promises and this Covid mismanagement is just another example,” Tiwary was quoted as saying on The Telegraph.

Tiwary has had his travails in his cricket career over the last three years or so. Even as he has kept performing in the domestic circuit, an Indian cap and an Indian Premier League contract kept eluding him. He also missed the erstwhile edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Tiwary hasn’t played in the IPL after last representing the Kings XI Punjab, now Punjab Kings, way back in 2018. In the meantime, he also thanked Mamata Banerjee, the Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal, for staying in touch with him. While he was recovering from injury, he kept a ‘Plan B’ in place.

“When I responded to Didi’s call, I had a knee injury and wasn’t playing Vijay Hazare Trophy. It would have taken four to five months to recover. I had to come to terms with IPL rejection and I had time at my disposal which I needed to use constructively,” he added.