Madan Mitra

Early life

Mitra hails from an aristocratic family of Bhowanipore, Kolkata. In 1971, he passed out from South Suburban School. He received an under-graduate degree in history from Calcutta University in 1976.

Political career

Early years

In 1973, Mitra entered politics and became the president of the students' union of Ashutosh College. He later became the south Kolkata president of the Indian Youth Congress. Initially, he belonged to the Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi faction. However, in 1976 he first switched to the Somen Mitra faction and then to the Mamata Banerjee faction. In 1990, he was appointed general secretary of the West Bengal unit of the Indian Youth Congress. He launched a taxi drivers' union the 1990s and also wrested control of the union of the SSKM Hospital.

Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998. In 2000, he was appointed general secretary of the party. Four years later, he became the president of the Trinamool Youth Congress.

Electoral politics

In 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Mitra was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the Kamarhati constituency. He became the sports minister and transport minister in the First Mamata Banerjee ministry. On 18 November 2015, he resigned from the cabinet after being named as an accused in the Saradha Group financial scandal.

Mitra lost the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election from his constituency. He was defeated by Manash Mukherjee of Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of 4,198 votes. Following the defeat, he was relegated to the fringes of the party. On 26 April 2019, Mamata Banerjee announced that Mitra would contest the upcoming by-election for Bhatpara constituency which had become vacant due to the defection of Arjun Singh to the Bharatiya Janata Party, but he was defeated by Pawan Kumar Singh.

Personal life

Madan Mitra is married to Archana Mitra. They have two sons, Swarup Mitra and Subhorup Mitra. While Swarup is a businessman, Subhorup is a youth politician. Swarup's son Maharup was born in 2015. Mitra debuted his acting career with Haranath Chakraborty's film Oh! Lovely in August 2023.

Filmography

Controversies

In 2012, Mitra questioned the morals of Suzette Jordan, the Park Street rape victim for befriending strangers at 2 am.

On 13 December 2014, Mitra was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his alleged role in Saradha Group financial scandal. Mamata Banerjee claimed that the arrest was an example of political vendetta of the Bharatiya Janata Party. While in jail, he was admitted to a hospital in November 2015 after he complained of "uneasiness". In September 2016, he was granted bail and hasn't been admitted to the hospital since.

Mitra was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate in September 2017 following the Narada sting operation.

On 17 May 2021, he along with senior minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, Subrata Mukherjee, MLA and minister Firhad Hakim and former Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee have been arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation from their house in connection with the Narada sting operation. He was granted bail on 28 May 2021.

References

References

1. (13 December 2014). "Saradha scam: The fall of a fierce Mamata loyalist". [[The Times of India]].
2. "Madan Mitra". My Neta.
3. (15 December 2014). "The rise and fall of Madan Mitra". [[The Hindu]].
4. (23 January 2016). "Jailed Trinamool Cong MLA Madan Mitra to contest assembly polls this time too". [[The Economic Times]].
5. (27 May 2011). "10 crorepatis in Mamata's ministry". [[Hindustan Times]].
6. (24 September 2012). "How West Bengal transport minister Madan Mitra's countered bandhs and strikes in the state". The Economic Times.
7. (18 November 2015). "Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra steps down". [[The Hindu]].
8. (20 May 2016). "8 ministers, Madan Mitra among heavyweight losers". [[The Times of India]].
9. "Election Commission of India".
10. (26 April 2019). "Bypoll stage for Madan Mitra comeback". [[The Telegraph (Calcutta).
11. (21 November 2015). "The rising son of the Mitra clan". [[The Times of India]].
12. (11 November 2015). "CBI to quiz Mitra's son for wedding costs". [[Hindustan Times]].
13. (10 September 2016). "Happy but cautious: Madan Mitra's family over his release". [[The Times of India]].
14. India, Press Trust of. (2023-08-04). "Trinamool leader Madan Mitra to debut as actor in Bengali film 'Oh Lovely'".
15. (20 January 2024). "'Sentimentaaal a much needed masala flick’". Times of India.
16. "Lokkhikantopur Local shines a light on suburban caregivers". 27 November 2025.
17. (29 December 2012). "TMC MP insinuates Park Street victim is sex worker". Hindustan Times.
18. (13 December 2014). "Saradha scam: CBI arrests Mamata's close aide and Bengal minister Madan Mitra". [[The Times of India]].
19. (3 November 2015). "West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra Admitted to Hospital in Kolkata". [[NDTV]].
20. (10 September 2016). "Former TMC minister Madan Mitra granted bail". [[The Hindu]].
21. (13 September 2017). "CBI Interrogates Ex-Bengal Minister Madan Mitra In Narada Case". [[NDTV]].
22. (17 May 2021). "Narada bribery case: 2 ministers, 1 MLA arrested, Mamata rushes to CBI office". [[Indian Express]].
23. (30 May 2021). "Madan Mitra, granted bail in Narada case, discharged from SSKM". The Telegraph.