Suvendu Adhikari

Suvendu Adhikari is an Indian politician and Minister in Charge of Transport, Irrigation and Water resource in Govt. of West Bengal. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha and the 16th Lok Sabha. He was elected as a All India Trinamool Congress candidate from Tamluk. An honours graduate, he was born on 15 December 1970.[1][2] He is the son of Sisir Adhikari, former Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Manmohan Singh government.[3][4]

Suvendu Adhikari
Minister for Transport, Government of West Bengal
Assumed office
27 May 2016
GovernorKeshari Nath Tripathi
Jagdeep Dhankhar
Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee
Preceded byAroop Biswas
Minister of Environment, Government of West Bengal
Assumed office
2018
Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee
Preceded bySovan Chatterjee
Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
19 May 2016
Preceded byFiroja Bibi
ConstituencyNandigram
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
16 May 2009 – 19 May 2016
Preceded byLakshman Chandra Seth
Succeeded byDibyendu Adhikari
ConstituencyTamluk
Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
In office
12 May 2006 – 16 May 2009
Preceded bySisir Adhikari
Succeeded byDibyendu Adhikari
ConstituencyKanthi Dakshin
Personal details
Born (1970-12-15) 15 December 1970
Contai, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal
Nationality India
Political partyAll India Trinamool Congress
ResidenceContai, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal
Alma materRabindra Bharati University (M.A) Contai P. K. College (B.A)
ProfessionPolitician
Businessperson

Credited as the man who galvanised the people of Nandigram under the umbrella of the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee, when rumours of land acquisition for a chemical hub had triggered a movement, Suvendu Adhikari was a member of the Legislative Assembly from Contai.[5] Suvendu defeated CPI(M)’s strongman Lakshman Seth, who led the charge in recapturing the villages from Trinamool Congress supporters leading to a bloodbath in 2007, by a margin of 1.72.958 votes.[6]

Suvendu Adhikari has 5 serious criminal cases against him: 1 charge related to voluntarily causing grievous hurt (IPC Section-325), 1 charge related to theft (IPC Section-379), 1 charge related to attempt to murder (IPC Section-307), 1 charge related to kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364), 1 charge related to assault or criminal force to women with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354). [7]

Early life

Mr. Adhikari was born on 15 December 1970 to Sisir Adhikari and Gayatri Adhikari at Karkuli in Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal. Suvendu's father Sisir is a politician and represents the Kanthi constituency in Lok Sabha. He also served as Minister of State in Second Manmohan Singh ministry.[8][9] Suvendu's brother Soumen is the chairman of the Kanthi municipal corporation.[9] Suvendu received a Master of Arts degree from Netaji Subhas Open University.[8]

Political career

In 2006, Adhikari was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Kanthi Dakshin constituency. He also became the chairman of Kanthi Municipal Corporation in the same year.[8]

In 2007, Adhikari spearheaded the anti-land-acquisition movement in the Nandigram. He led the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee. The ruling Left Front government in West Bengal planned to acquire 10,000 acres of land in the village to set up a special economic zone.[10][11][12] This movement catapulted Mamata Banerjee to the centre-stage of Bengali politics.[12] The state CID alleged that Adhikari had supplied arms to the Maoists to wage an armed movement against the state government.[13][14]

After Adhikari's success in Nandigram, Banerjee made him the party's observer (in-charge) of the Jangal Mahal i.e. Paschim Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura districts. He was successful in expanding the party's base in these districts.[12] In 2009, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tamluk constituency.[15] He defeated his nearest rival Lakshman Seth of Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of approximately 173,000 votes.[6]

In the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Adhikari was pitted against Abdul Kadir Sheikh of the Left Front - Indian National Congress alliance.[11] After getting elected, he resigned as an MP from Tamluk constituency.[16] He was sworn in as the Minister of Transport in the Second Mamata Banerjee ministry on 27 May 2016.[17]

Controversies

Adhikari was interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in September 2014 for his alleged role in the Saradha Group financial scandal. A former employee of the company alleged the company's head Sudipto Sen met Adhikari before fleeing to Kashmir. Adhikari rejected such allegations.[18][19]

References
  1. "Thumbnail sketches of ministers of state". new Kerala.com. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  2. "Suvendu Adhikari". India Govt. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  3. Had no work, say former TMC ministers in UPA govt Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 11 November 2012
  4. "Suvendu Adhikari -Profile". Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  5. Dutta, Indrani. "Like father, like son". The Hindu, 5 May 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  6. "Nandigram swings two seats in East Midnapore in Trinamool's favour". Indian Express 17 May 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  7. http://adrindia.org/content/analysis-candidates-mps-and-mlas-who-have-declared-crimes-against-women-including-rape
  8. "Suvendu Adhikari". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  9. "Nandigram: Trinamool's stronghold, one family's stranglehold". Asia Net News. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  10. Sarkar, Arindam (26 April 2007). "Mamata promises to marry off raped girls of Nandigram". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  11. "Trinamool Congress confident of victory in Nandigram". The Economic Times. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  12. "From Nandigram to Murshidabad - Suvendu Adhikari is Mamata Banerjee's all weather man". Hindustan Times. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  13. Roy, Anirban (17 July 2010). "CID to question Trinamool's Adhikari on Maoist links". India Today. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  14. "Trinamool MP accused of supplying ammo to Naxalites". India Today. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  15. "In Contai, it's family first for Trinamool's Sisir Adhikary". Indian Express. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  16. "Dibyendu Adhikari to contest from Tamluk parliament constituency". India Today. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  17. "List of Ministers in Mamata's cabinet". The Hindu. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  18. "Saradha scam: CBI grills Trinamool MP Suvendu Adhikari". India TV. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  19. "Saradha Scam: TMC MP Adhikari says 'his decision to become CBI witness'". The Indian Express. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.