Jyotirmoyee Sikdar (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian politician and former sportswoman. She served as member of parliament 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 ...

from the Krishnagar constituency in the

14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (2 June 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian National ...

. She was defeated in the

2009 Indian general election General elections were held in India in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009 to elect the members of the fifteenth Lok Sabha. With a registered electorate of 716 million and a turnout of 417 million voters, it was the l ...

by the actor turned politician

Tapas Paul Tapas Paul (29 September 1958 – 18 February 2020) was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen roles opposite Mahua Roy Choudhury and Debashree Roy. He recei ...

of the

Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the Federated state, state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a Lis ...

. She had been reportedly inactive in politics following her defeat. In 2019, she herself pledged support to the

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...

and then joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

in the following year. She was a middle-distance runner and won the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

at the 1995 Asian Athletics Championships. She went on to win the bronze medal in 800 m and 1500 m events in the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships and gold medal in both the events in the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998. She is a recipient of the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

in 1995 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award for the year 1998–1999. She was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 2003.

Personal life

Sikdar was born on 11 December 1969 to Gurudas Sikdar and Nihar Sikdar in Debagram of

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influe ...

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 ...

. She studied till

Higher Secondary Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), Higher Secondary School Certificate, Higher Secondary Education Certificate (HSEC) or Intermediate Examination is a secondary education qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is equivalent to the f ...

. Sikdar married Avtar Singh on 9 February 1994, with whom she has a son.

Achievements

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
* 1969 births Living people People from Krishnagar Sportswomen from West Bengal Indian female middle-distance runners 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people Indian sportsperson-politicians Women in West Bengal politics Olympic athletes for India Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Asian Games India MPs 2004–2009 Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Lok Sabha members from West Bengal 21st-century Indian women politicians Women members of the Lok Sabha Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for India Asian Athletics Championships winners Asian Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Asian Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) {{India-athletics-bio-stub