Veteran Tripura politician and former Congress MLA Tapas Dey passed away in the early hours of Saturday at the age of 84 following a prolonged illness. He breathed his last at Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital.

Dey’s death has cast a pall of grief across Tripura’s political and social circles. Known for his cordial relations across party lines, he maintained close personal ties with political leaders, bureaucrats, journalists, lawyers and members of civil society. His passing was widely mourned by leaders and people from different sections of society.

Dey is survived by distant relatives, besides leaving behind a large circle of friends, colleagues and well-wishers.

Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha, Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, veteran Congress leader Samir Ranjan Barman, Tripura Pradesh Congress president Asish Saha, AICC member and MLA Sudip Roy Barman, TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, Motha MLA Ranjit Debbarma and BJP state president Abhishek Debroy were among those who expressed condolences over his demise.

Dey’s political career spanned more than five decades and was closely intertwined with the political evolution of post-Partition Tripura. He came to the state in 1965 as a refugee from erstwhile East Pakistan and began his public life from student politics. During his student days at Tripura Polytechnic and Ram Thakur College, he was elected General Secretary and emerged as an active student leader.

In the 1972 Assembly elections, Dey won the Shalgara constituency on a Congress ticket and became one of the youngest legislators in the state at the time. He remained associated with the Indian National Congress for a major part of his political career and was considered close to veteran Congress leader Priyadas Chakraborty.

In the later phase of his political journey, Dey associated himself with different political platforms, including the Tripura Democratic Front, before joining TIPRA Motha. His longstanding proximity to the royal family and his political association with the indigenous rights movement led him to contest the 2023 Assembly elections as a TIPRA Motha candidate.

Although his political affiliations evolved over the years, Dey remained committed to public life and continued to engage actively in politics. His transition between political platforms was viewed by many as an effort to remain politically relevant while pursuing causes and principles that he believed in.

Even after electoral setbacks, Dey showed little inclination to retire from politics. At the age of 81, he returned to the electoral arena in the 2023 Assembly elections as a TIPRA Motha candidate, reflecting the determination and commitment that had defined his long political career.

With his death, Tripura has lost a veteran political figure who remained active in public life for decades and earned respect for his accessibility, personal warmth and relationships across political divides.