Stripped of Bengal top award over Netaji remarks, slapped with FIR: Who is BJP MP Ananta Maharaj

Ananta Maharaj, whose real name is Nagendra Roy, is a key leader of the Rajbanshi (Scheduled Caste) community in Cooch Behar district, which has been a major vote bank for the BJP in the state. (File photo) 6 min readKolkataAug 14, 2026 07:39 PM IST First published on: Aug 14, 2026 at 07:37 PM IST A day after the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in West Bengal withdrew the state’s highest civilian honour, Banga Bibhushan, from the BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ananta Maharaj for his alleged disparaging comment against Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Maharaj on Friday issued a public apology over his controversial remarks. Maharaj, whose real name is Nagendra Roy, is a key leader of the Rajbanshi (Scheduled Caste) community in Cooch Behar district, which has been a major vote bank for the BJP in the state.