Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, senior TMC leader Tapas Roy on Monday quit as an MLA, expressing displeasure over the functioning of the party.

"I have submitted my resignation as an MLA to the assembly speaker. I am now a free bird," he said.

Roy, while speaking to media persons, slammed the party leadership for not standing by him when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January.

Earlier in the day, Tapas Roy expressed displeasure over the functioning of the party and the way the Sandeshkhali issue was handled, dropping hints at quitting the organisation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Roy, the TMC deputy chief whip in the assembly, slammed the party leadership for allegedly not standing by him when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January.

"I am really disappointed with the way the party is functioning. I am fed up with so many allegations of corruption levelled against the party and the government. Secondly, I do not support the way the Sandeshkhali issue was handled," he told reporters.

Senior TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Bratya Basu met Roy at his residence this morning in an attempt to pacify him.

Roy has been at loggerheads with TMC MP from North Kolkata, Sudip Bandopadhyay.

"I have been a loyal soldier of the party for the last 25 years. But I did not get my due," he said.

According to sources, Roy is likely to submit his resignation as TMC MLA this afternoon.