Suvendu Adhikari


Suvendu Adhikari is an Indian politician and Minister in Charge of Transport, Irrigation and Water resource in Govt. of West Bengal. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha and the 16th Lok Sabha. He was elected as an All India Trinamool Congress candidate from Tamluk. An honours graduate, he was born on 15 December 1970. He is the son of Sisir Adhikari, former Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Manmohan Singh government.
Credited as the man who galvanised the people of Nandigram under the umbrella of the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee, when rumours of land acquisition for a chemical hub had triggered a movement, Suvendu Adhikari was a member of the Legislative Assembly from Contai. Suvendu defeated CPI’s strongman Lakshman Seth, who led the charge in recapturing the villages from Trinamool Congress supporters leading to a bloodbath in 2007, by a margin of 1.72.958 votes.
Suvendu Adhikari has 5 serious criminal cases against him: 1 charge related to voluntarily causing grievous hurt, 1 charge related to theft, 1 charge related to attempt to murder, 1 charge related to kidnapping or abducting in order to murder, 1 charge related to assault or criminal force to women with intent to outrage her modesty.

Early life

Mr. Adhikari was born on 15 December 1970 to Sisir Adhikari and Gayatri Adhikari at Karkuli in Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal. Suvendu's father Sisir is a politician and represents the Kanthi constituency in Lok Sabha. He also served as Minister of State in Second Manmohan Singh ministry. Suvendu's brother Soumen is the chairman of the Kanthi municipal corporation. Suvendu received a Master of Arts degree from Netaji Subhas Open University.

Political career

In 2006, Adhikari was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Kanthi Dakshin constituency. He also became the chairman of Kanthi Municipal Corporation in the same year.
In 2007, Adhikari spearheaded the anti-land-acquisition movement in the Nandigram. He led the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee. The ruling Left Front government in West Bengal planned to acquire 10,000 acres of land in the village to set up a special economic zone. This movement catapulted Mamata Banerjee to the centre-stage of Bengali politics. The state CID alleged that Adhikari had supplied arms to the Maoists to wage an armed movement against the state government.
After Adhikari's success in Nandigram, Banerjee made him the party's observer of the Jangal Mahal i.e. Paschim Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura districts. He was successful in expanding the party's base in these districts. In 2009, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tamluk constituency. He defeated his nearest rival Lakshman Seth of Communist Party of India by a margin of approximately 173,000 votes.
In the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Adhikari was pitted against Abdul Kadir Sheikh of the Left Front - Indian National Congress alliance. After getting elected, he resigned as an MP from Tamluk constituency. He was sworn in as the Minister of Transport in the Second Mamata Banerjee ministry on 27 May 2016.

Controversies

Adhikari was interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in September 2014 for his alleged role in the Saradha Group financial scandal. A former employee of the company alleged the company's head Sudipto Sen met Adhikari before fleeing to Kashmir. Adhikari rejected such allegations.