Sovandeb Chattopadhyay

Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay (born 30 January 1944) is an Indian politician representing the Trinamool Congress and is the first elected MLA of the party (elected in 1998). He was the founder president of INTTUC, the labour wing of Trinamool Congress.

He is one of the close associates of Mamata Banerjee since mid 80s and was a prominent face in her fights against CPI(M). He is also one of the founding members of Trinamool Congress in 1998.

He was the Government Chief Whip of his first TMC government in the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha from 2011 to 2016. On 27 May 2016 he took charge as the Hon'ble Minister of Power & Non Conventional Energy, Government of West Bengal.

A boxer in his younger days, he is a veteran trade union leader, holding degrees in science and law. He is president of Kolkata Auto Rickshaw Operators' Union. He previously worked in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation as an employee.

He won the Baruipur seat as a Congress candidate in 1991 and 1996 and as a Trinamool Congress candidate won the Rasbehari seat in 2001 and 2006. In 2011 he was pitted against a green-horn and won by nearly 50,000 votes and was further re-elected in 2016. Currently he is the Minister-in-Charge, Department of Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs in the Government of West Bengal. He resigned from his seat Bhabanipur for CM Mamata Banerjee to contest West Bengal Legislative Assembly by-election. He then contested the by election from Khardah and won with a margin of 93,832 votes.

He presently serves as a Minister in West Bengal Cabinet and also as the Deputy Leader of the House in West Bengal Legislative Assembly.