birth palceBerhampore, Distt. Murshidabad (West Bengal)
professionPolitician
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury biography
From single-handedly steering the Congress boat in West Bengal to being named as the party leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has come a long way to rise from under the shadow of other party heavyweights like Pranab Mukherjee and Abu Ghani Khan Choudhury.
The popularity of the 67-year-old can be gauged from the fact that he retained the Berhampore seat by an impressive margin of 80,000 votes in the 2019 General Elections despite the party fighting to stay relevant in Bengal in the face of a saffron surge.
Born on April 2, 1956, in Berhampore, Chowdhury shot into the political limelight after he won the seat in 1999 against all odds as it had not been won by the Congress since 1951 and was a Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) stronghold. RSP has been winning the Berhampore seat since 1952.
In the 2016 Assembly elections, Congress candidates won in all seven Assembly segments under the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat.
Chowdhury, a staunch critic of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been the chief of the West Bengal Congress and was also the Minister of State for Railways during the UPA government from 2012 to 2014. Chowdhury has also been a member of the West Bengal Assembly from 1996 to 1999.
Notably, Chowdhury lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election against TMC candidate and former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan.
“I have repeatedly raised in the Lok Sabha the urgent necessity of establishing an airport in Murshidabad,” he said, adding that enhanced connectivity will increase trade, tourism, and investment opportunities in the district and neighbouring areas.
“This (SIR row) is a mockery of democracy being done by the EC and the Mamata Banerjee government. If necessary, elections may be deferred till all genuine voters are allowed to vote,” says the Bengal Congress veteran
The former Union minister also raised concerns over the Matua community, which according to him, fears exclusion from voter lists due to the recently concluded SIR in the state.
In recent weeks and months, several Bengali migrant workers on suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi nationals have been detained, and some of them pushed into Bangladesh.
Banerjee, who is scheduled to reach Berhampore on May 5, recently said she would also visit Samsherganj, one of the areas affected by the violence last month, on May 6
At the meeting, the central leadership discussed organisational matters with the state unit leaders. Sources said that the state unit leaders were told before the meeting that there would be no discussion on the party’s alliance.
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Experiences with cab drivers can often be a mixed bag, with some people sharing unpleasant encounters while others heap praise on drivers who go above and beyond. Indian singer Shalmali Kholgade recently found herself in the latter group after taking a ride with what she called the “ideal Uber driver”.
