Abhishek Banerjee (born 8 November 1987) is an Indian Politician is a member of the All India Trinamool Congress and he is currently serving as a Member of Parliament, Diamond Harbour (Lok Sabha constituency), South 24 Parganas, West Bengal since 2014. Banerjee has also been the President of Trinamool Youth Congress since 2011,[1] the youth wing of the Trinamool Congress, currently in power in West Bengal.
Abhishek Banerjee | |
|---|---|
Banerjee in 2013 | |
| General Secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress | |
| Assumed office 5 June 2021 | |
| Chairperson | Mamata Banerjee |
| Preceded by | Subrata Bakshi |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 16 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Somendra Nath Mitra |
| Constituency | Diamond Harbour |
| West Bengal State President, All India Trinamool Youth Congress | |
| In office 5 June 2015 – 5 June 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Saumitra Khan |
| Succeeded by | Saayoni Ghosh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 7, 1987 Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Political party | Trinamool Congress |
| Spouse | Rujira Banerjee |
| Relatives | Mamata Banerjee (paternal aunt) |
| Alma mater | Indian Institute of Planning and Management (BBA, MBA) |
| Profession | Politician |
Abhishek Banerjee has served as a member of the Standing Committee[2] of Commerce in 2014. He was also selected as a member of the Consultative Committee under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate affairs in 2014. He had served as a member of Railway Convention Committee (R.C.C.) from April 2015 to May 2019.
He currently serves as a member of Standing Committee[2] of External Affairs since September 2019. On 5 June 2021 he was appointed the general secretary of Trinamool Congress.[3][4]
He is also a founder of Diamond Harbour FC.
Personal life
editAbhishek Banerjee is the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.[5] He was born and raised in Kolkata, India. Banerjee attended Nava Nalanda High School and M.P. Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School both in Kolkata. Later, Banerjee moved to Delhi and pursued his BBA and MBA in Human Resource and Marketing from the, controversial and now defunct, Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM),[2] New Delhi in 2009. Banerjee married a Thai national named Rujira on 24 February 2012. Together they have two children, a daughter and a son.[2]
Political career
editAbhishek Banerjee entered politics as a member of Trinamool Congress in 2011 after the party had ousted 34 years of Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Front regime by winning the Assembly Election in the same year. Abhishek Banerjee was recognised as the youth icon of Trinamool Congress when he was selected as the National President of All India Trinamool Youth Congress in 2011.[6]
In 2014, Banerjee contested the Lok Sabha elections on behalf of TMC as a candidate from the constituency of Diamond Harbour and won by a significant margin defeating the nearest opponent from CPI(M).[7] At that time, Banerjee was the youngest parliamentarian in the lower house.[8] He had also arranged the M.P. Cup Football Tournament[9] in his constituency to inspire the youth to engage in sports and physical activities. After the successful completion of his first tenure, Banerjee won the 2019 Lok Sabha Election from Diamond Harbour with a margin of 320,594 votes, defeating the nearest opponent from BJP.[7] Abhishek sets new record of winning 3rd consecutive time from Diamond Harbour constutiency of 2024 Lok Sabha by 7,10,930 votes.[10][11]
Member of coordination committee of Indian National Developmental Alliance
editBanerjee has been appointed a member of the Coordination Committee of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at its Mumbai convention on 1 September 2023.[12][13] The coordination committee will decide the national agenda, common campaign issues and common program of the country's main opposition alliance (I.N.D.I.A.).
Controversies
editDeath of Debashish Acharya
editIn 2015, a person named Debashish Acharya slapped Banerjee at a public meeting after which Acharya was physically attacked by Trinamool Congress Party supporters; Acharya was also arrested by the police. Later, Banerjee forgave him and he was released from jail. Six years later, in June 2021, Acharya was found dead under reportedly mysterious circumstances. Acharya was brought to the hospital by some unidentified people where the doctor declared him dead on arrival. He was murdered by "party goons".[14][15][16][17]
References
edit- ^ PTI (17 October 2014). "Mamata Banerjee sets stage for nephew Abhishek for bigger role in Trinamool Congress". dnaindia.com. Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
Entrusting Trinamool Congress MP and Abhishek Banerjee with more responsibilities, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today merged the 'Trinamool Congress Yuva' with the party's youth wing.
- ^ a b c d "Parliament of India - Lok Sabha Official Website".
- ^ Kundu, Indrajit (5 June 2021). "Trinamool Congress reshuffle: MP Abhishek Banerjee made general secretary". India Today. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Mamata appoints Abhishek Banerjee TMC as general secretary". cnbctv18.com. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Elections India - Abhishek Banerjee Biography".
- ^ "All India Trinamool Congress Official Website".
- ^ a b "Elections.in - India's First Elections Website".
- ^ "Youth Parliament: What it means to have 64 MPs aged below 40". The Indian Express.
As nephew of party chief Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek rose swiftly within the party. In 2011, at 23, he became national president of the All India Trinamool Youth Congress. Soon after his debut election in 2014, which he won against the CPI's Abul Hasnat from Diamond Harbour, Abhishek was made a member of several key parliamentary committees, including the Standing Committee on Commerce.
- ^ "All India Trinamool Congress Official Website".
- ^ "Abhishek sets new record in WB, wins by margin of over 7.1 lakh votes". The Times of India. 5 June 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ The Economic Times (6 June 2024). "Bullish Wins & Bearish Losses: Here are the key contests and results of 2024 Lok Sabha polls". Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ "Opposition alliance named 'INDIA', 11-member coordination committee to decide on all important issues". The Times of India. 19 July 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Singh, Mritunjay. "Sharad Pawar, Tejashwi, Raghav Chadha Named In I.N.D.I.A's 13-Member Coordination Panel". ABP Live. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Debashish Acharya, Man Who Slapped Abhishek Banerjee, Dies Mysteriously". news.abplive.com. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "West Bengal: Debasish Acharya, man who slapped Abhishek Banerjee at TMC rally in 2015, dies mysteriously". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Mamata Banerjee's Nephew Abhishek Banerjee Slapped at Public Meeting". NDTV. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Mishra, Anupam (18 June 2021). "Man who slapped Abhishek Banerjee dies mysteriously, family claims murder". India Today. Retrieved 3 September 2022.