Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (born 2 April 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the leader of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

in the

17th Lok Sabha The 17th Lok Sabha was formed by the members elected in the 2019 Indian general election. Elections, all across India, were conducted in seven phases from 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 by the Election Commission of India. Counting started offici ...

and from 2019 to 2024 and the Member of Parliament from Berhampore from 1999 to 2024. He has served as the president of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) following the demise of Somendra Nath Mitra from 2020 to 2024. and previously from 2014 to 2018, Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee since 2019 till 2024, Minister of State of Railways from 2012 to 2014 and the member of the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...

from 1996 to 1999.

Personal life

Chowdhury was born on 2 April 1956 to Niranjan and Saroja Bala Chowdhury at Berhampore in Murshidabad district,

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. He studied at I.C. Institute in Berhampore. Chowdhury married Arpita Chowdhury on 15 September 1987. They had a daughter, Shreyashi, who died in October 2006. On 9 January 2019, Arpita died. He later married Atashi C Chowdhury.

Political career

In the 1970s, Choudhary was involved with the Naxalism movement. He joined the

party during the premiership of

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

. In 1991, he contested the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election from Nabagram constituency. During the polling, he was chased by 300 supporters of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

and held hostage by its candidate. Chowdhury lost by a margin of 1,401 votes. In 1996, he was elected from the same constituency. Chowdhury polled 76,852 votes and won by a margin of approximately 20,329 votes. Chowdhury contested the

1999 Indian general election General elections were held in India between 5 September and 3 October 1999, a few months after the Kargil War. Results were announced on 6 October 1999. The elections saw the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party win ...

from Berhampore constituency. He won by a margin of 95,391 votes and defeated his nearest rival, the sitting MP Pramothes Mukherjee of Revolutionary Socialist Party. Following his success, he was made the Congress president for the Murshidabad district. 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 the Ministry of External Affairs. In 2003, under Chowdhury's leadership, the Congress party won 23 out of 33 '' zilla parishad'' seats, 13 out of 26 '' panchayat samitis'' and 104 out of 254 village councils in Murshidabad. On 28 October 2012 he was inducted in the Union Ministry under Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

as Minister of State for Railways. He became the president of West Bengal Pradesh Congress on 10 February 2014.

Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha

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 convince Rahul Gandhi. 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. After the death of Somen Mitra, the then president of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, on 9 September 2020, Chowdhury was appointed the president of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee. On 12 January 2022, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to the chairman 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.

Upset election defeat and resignation

In a massive electoral upset, Chowdhury was defeated in INC's own bastion Berhampore by TMC fielded former cricketer Yusuf Pathan by more than 85,000+ votes in the

2024 Indian general election General elections were held in Elections in India, India from 2024 elections in India, 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases, to elect all List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the res ...

. Following INC's debacle in West Bengal, he resigned from his post of president of WBPCC on 21 June 2024.

References

External links

*
Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website (cache site)
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Adhir Ranjan 1956 births Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Living people Politicians from Murshidabad district India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 Lok Sabha members from West Bengal India MPs 2014–2019 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2019–2024 West Bengal MLAs 1996–2001 Presidents of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee Union ministers of state of India