Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury | |
|---|---|
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| President of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee | |
| In office 9 September 2020 – 21 September 2024 | |
| President | Mallikarjun Kharge Sonia Gandhi |
| Preceded by | Somendra Nath Mitra |
| Succeeded by | Subhankar Sarkar |
| In office 11 February 2014 – 22 September 2018 | |
| President | Sonia Gandhi Rahul Gandhi |
| Preceded by | Pradip Bhattacharya |
| Succeeded by | Somendra Nath Mitra |
| Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha | |
| In office 11 October 1999 – 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Promothes Mukherjee |
| Succeeded by | Yusuf Pathan |
| Constituency | Baharampur, West Bengal |
| Leader of the Indian National Congress inLok Sabha | |
| In office 18 July 2021 – 4 June 2024 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind Droupadi Murmu |
| Deputy | Gaurav Gogoi |
| Preceded by | Ravneet Singh Bittu |
| Succeeded by | Rahul Gandhi (asLeader of the Opposition) |
| In office 16 June 2019 – 11 March 2021 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Preceded by | Mallikarjun Kharge |
| Succeeded by | Ravneet Singh Bittu |
| Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee | |
| In office 26 July 2019 – 5 June 2024 | |
| Appointed by | Om Birla(Lok Sabha Speaker) |
| Preceded by | Mallikarjun Kharge |
| Succeeded by | K. C. Venugopal |
| Union Minister of State for Railways | |
| In office 28 October 2012 – 26 May 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | K. J. Surya Prakash Reddy |
| Succeeded by | Manoj Sinha Rajen Gohain |
| Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 10 May 1996 – 6 October 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Sisir Sarkar |
| Constituency | Nabagram |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1956-04-02)2 April 1956 (age 69) Berhampore,West Bengal, India |
| Party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Murshidabad,West Bengal, India |
| Profession |
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| Source:[1] | |
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (born 2 April 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the leader of theIndian National Congress in the17th Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024 and theMember of Parliament fromBerhampore from 1999 to 2024.[1][2] He has served as the president ofWest Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) following the demise ofSomendra Nath Mitra from 2020 to 2024.[3] and previously from 2014 to 2018, Chairperson ofPublic Accounts Committee since 2019 till 2024, Minister of Stateof Railways from 2012 to 2014 and the member of theWest Bengal Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 1999.[4]
Chowdhury was born on 2 April 1956 to Niranjan and Saroja Bala Chowdhury atBerhampore inMurshidabad district,West Bengal. He studied at I.C. Institute in Berhampore.[5]
Chowdhury married Arpita Chowdhury on 15 September 1987.[6] They had a daughter, Shreyashi, who died in October 2006.[7][8] On 9 January 2019, Arpita died.[9] He later married Atashi C Chowdhury.[5][10]
In the 1970s, Choudhary was involved with theNaxalism movement.[11] He joined theIndian National Congress party during the premiership ofRajiv Gandhi. In 1991, he contested theWest Bengal Legislative Assembly election fromNabagram constituency. During the polling, he was chased by 300 supporters of theCommunist Party of India (Marxist) and held hostage by its candidate. Chowdhury lost by a margin of 1,401 votes. In 1996, he was elected from the same constituency.[12] Chowdhury polled 76,852 votes and won by a margin of approximately 20,329 votes.[13]
Chowdhury contested the1999 Indian general election fromBerhampore constituency. He won by a margin of 95,391 votes[12] and defeated his nearest rival, the sitting MP Pramothes Mukherjee ofRevolutionary Socialist Party.[14] Following his success, he was made the Congress president for theMurshidabad district.[12] Between 1999 and 2000, he served as a member of Committee on Information Technology, Railway Convention Committee and Committee to Review the Rate of Dividend Payable by the Railway Undertaking to the General Revenues. Between 2000 and 2004, he served as a member of Consultative Committee of theMinistry of External Affairs.[5] In 2003, under Chowdhury's leadership, the Congress party won 23 out of 33zilla parishad seats, 13 out of 26panchayat samitis and 104 out of 254 village councils in Murshidabad.[12]
On 28 October 2012 he was inducted in the Union Ministry under Prime MinisterManmohan Singh as Minister of State for Railways.[15]
He became the president ofWest Bengal Pradesh Congress on 10 February 2014.[16]
In June 2019, he was selected as Congress leader in Lok Sabha. According to a report in NDTV, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was given the job after the party failed to convinceRahul Gandhi.[17]On 26 July 2019, Chowdhury was appointed the chairman of Seventeenth Lok Sabha Committee on Public Accounts. The Public Accounts Committee is now constituted every year under Rule 308 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.[18]
After the death ofSomen Mitra, the then president ofWest Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, on 9 September 2020, Chowdhury was appointed the president ofWest Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee.[19]
On 12 January 2022, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to thechairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs,Anand Sharma, asking the committee to discuss the "Violative Software Application 'Tek Fog'", in their next meeting.[20]
Chowdhury was a member of Committee constituted by the Government of India in September 2023 to suggest changes to the constitution for simultaneous polls in the country.[21] In March 2024, the panel submitted an extensive report recommending synchronised elections across all levels - Lok Sabha, assemblies, and local bodies.[22]
In anelectoral upset, Chowdhury faced a heavy defeat in theINC's bastion Berhampore by theTMC-fielded former cricketerYusuf Pathan by more than 85,000 votes in the2024 Indian general election.[2] Following INC's debacle in West Bengal, Chowdhury resigned as president of WBPCC on 21 June 2024.[3]
| Year | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Opponent Party | Opponent Votes | % | Result | Margin | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Baharampur | INC | 439,494 | 31.74 | Yusuf Pathan | AITC | 524,516 | 37.88 | Lost | -85,022 | -6.14 | ||
| 2019 | 591,147 | 45.47 | Apurba Sarkar (David) | 510,410 | 39.26 | Won | 80,737 | 6.21 | |||||
| 2014 | 583,549 | 50.54 | Indranil Sen | 226,982 | 19.69 | Won | 356,567 | 30.85 | |||||
| 2009 | 541,920 | 56.91 | Promothes Mukherjee | RSP | 354,943 | 37.27 | Won | 186,977 | 19.64 | ||||
| 2004 | 508,095 | 51.50 | 409,194 | 41.40 | Won | 98,901 | 10.10 | ||||||
| 1999 | 434,073 | 46.86 | 338,683 | 36.56 | Won | 95,390 | 10.30 | ||||||
Media related toAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury at Wikimedia Commons| Lok Sabha | ||
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| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition inLok Sabha 2019 – 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Lok Sabha | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBerhampore 1999 – 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee 10 February 2014 – 21 September 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee 9 September 2020 – August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Leader of theIndian National Congress in theLok Sabha 16 June 2019 – 11 March 2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of theIndian National Congress in theLok Sabha 18 July 2021 – 4 June 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Presiding Officers & Parliamentary Functionaries |
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| Current Members | ||
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