Saumitra Khan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Susmita Bauri |
| Constituency | Bishnupur |
| Member of Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2011–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Kalpana Koley |
| Succeeded by | Shyamal Santra |
| Constituency | Katulpur |
| West Bengal State President,All India Trinamool Youth Congress | |
| Preceded by | Suvendu Adhikari |
| Succeeded by | Abhishek Banerjee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1980-12-08)8 December 1980 (age 44)[1] |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2019-present) |
| Other political affiliations | Trinamool Congress (2014-2019) Indian National Congress (till 2014) |
| Alma mater | Panchmura Mahavidyalaya[1] |
| Signature |  |
Parliamentary Committee Memberships[1]
| |
Saumitra Khan (born: 8 December 1980) is an Indian politician representing theBishnupur constituency of West Bengal in theLok Sabha since2014.[2][3][4][5][6] He joinedBharatiya Janata Party in 2019[7] and currently (as of December 2020) serves as thepresident ofBharatiya Janata Yuva MorchaWest Bengal.
Khan started his political career withIndian National Congress and was elected toWest Bengal Legislative Assembly fromKatulpur constituency. In 2013, he switched to theTrinamool Congress, which ruled West Bengal. In the2014 Indian general election, he was elected to theLok Sabha fromBishnupur constituency. In early 2019, he defected toBharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the centre. Following his defection, a police case was lodged against him for allegedly extorting money from job aspirants. TheKolkata High Court prevented him from entering his constituency. He won with a margin of more than 78,000 votes without even holding any political rally in the area.[citation needed]
Khan was born in aBengali Hindu family ofShunri jati on 8 December 1980 to Dhanonjoy Khan and Chhaya Rani Khan atDurlabhpur inBankura district,West Bengal.[8] He studied atPanchmura Mahavidyalaya.[9] His wife, Sujata Mondal Khan, joined Trinamool Congress, after Saumitra Khan filed for divorce. On 7 February 2023, with the order of the Hon'ble court of Bankura, he got divorced. This has led to an ongoing controversy in West Bengal politics. Another controversy occurred when he demanded a separate state of Junglemahal state.[10]
In the2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Khan was elected to the assembly fromKatulpur constituency as a candidate of theIndian National Congress.[11] On 12 December 2013, he announced his intention to join the rulingTrinamool Congress. He alleged that the state Congress unit was ignoring theBankura district.[12] Four days later, he officially joined Trinamool Congress.[11]
In2014 Indian general election, Khan was elected to the16th Lok Sabha fromBishnupur constituency. After getting elected, he said that his priority as an MP would be to developBishnupur as a tourist spot and to protect the rights of workers who makeBaluchari Sari.[13] On 9 January 2019, he defected toBharatiya Janata Party. Subsequently, he was expelled by his former party.[14]The Times of India reported thatMukul Roy, who himself defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party played an important role in recruiting Khan.[15] The "dynastic rule" in the Trinamool Congress and the political violence in the state were the reasons cited by Khan to switch parties.[16]
In February 2019 it was alleged that Khan had extorted money from job aspirants on false promises.[17] TheKolkata High Court announced that he could not be arrested though it prevented him from entering Bankura.[17] In the following month, Khan was interrogated by the Bankura police.[18] On 12 April, theSupreme Court of India refused to overturn the ban on him although he was allowed to enter the district for filing his nomination papers.[19] In the absence of Khan, his wife Sujata Khan started campaigning for him for the upcominggeneral election.[20] Khan managed to win from the same constituency with a margin of 78,047 votes even without holding any roadshow or addressing any political rally.[21][22][23]
