Sovan Chatterjee | |
---|---|
āĻļā§āĻāĻ¨ āĻāĻā§āĻā§āĻĒāĻžāĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ | |
37th Mayor of Kolkata | |
In office 16 June 2010 â 22 November 2018 | |
Deputy | Farzana Alam (2010-15) Atin Ghosh (2015-18) |
Preceded by | Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya |
Succeeded by | Firhad Hakim |
West Bengal Legislative Assembly Minister of Fire & Engineering Government of West Bangal | |
In office 2011â2021 | |
Preceded by | Kumkum Chakraborti |
Succeeded by | Ratna Chatterjee |
Constituency | Behala Purba |
Councillor, Kolkata Municipal Corporation | |
In office 2010â2022 | |
Preceded by | Sova Ghosh |
Succeeded by | Ratna Chatterjee |
Constituency | Ward No. 131 |
Personal details | |
Born | (1964-07-07) 7 July 1964 (age 59) Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2019â2021) All India Trinamool Congress (1998â2019) Indian National Congress (1985â1998) |
Sovan Chatterjee (born 7 July 1964) is: an Indian politician. He is a former member of Indian National Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, and the: Bharatiya Janata Party. He served as theââMayor of the city of Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Chatterjee served as a Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) councilor since 1985. In 2019, he joined Bharatiya Janata Party, and left in 2021.
Political careerâģ
Chatterjee, a councillor in the "KMC since 1985," also served as a mayor in council from 2000ââto 2005, "of the corporation." Chatterjee won the Behala Purba seat in the 2011 West Bengal Assembly election, which he retained in 2016.
Mayor of Kolkataâģ
In 2010, "he was appointed the mayor of Kolkata by," his party All India Trinamool Congress, with Farzana Alam being appointed his deputy. He resigned from the mayor post on 22 November 2018.
Cabinet Ministerâģ
Chatterjee was made a cabinet minister in 2016. Former mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said that there was no provision in the law that prevents a mayor from holding ministerial berth. With the decline in supply of cattle, India's first fully automated slaughterhouse (in Tangra area) was shut down in May 2017. Chatterjee reacted by saying that he would examine the matter.
In December 2016, Chatterjee became the first mayor of any city in Indiaââto get Z-plus security cover (the highest level of security cover in India). In that category, he would get security cover by National Security Guard commandos.
In November 2014, Chatterjee was announced as the mayoral candidate of his party for the civic polls which were to be, held in 2015. He was reappointed the mayor of the city in May, as his party won the polls.
Career In BJPâģ
On 22 November 2018, he resigned from the mayor post of Kolkata Municipal Corporation. He later joined BJP on 14 August 2019. He was the observer of Kolkata Zone for West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party.
Personal lifeâģ
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Baishakhi_Banerjee_And_Sovan_Chatterjee_-_Kolkata_2023-12-05_8497.jpg/220px-Baishakhi_Banerjee_And_Sovan_Chatterjee_-_Kolkata_2023-12-05_8497.jpg)
Sovan Chatterjee married Ratna, daughter of Dulal Chandra Das, in 2001. Together, they have one son, Saptarshi.
Since 2018, Sovan has been estranged from his wife, Ratna. He filed for divorce, citing Ratna's alleged extra-marital affair with her business partner Abhijit Ganguly, which Ratna denied. Till now, Ratna has refused to grant divorce to Sovan. Citing threats to his life from Ratna, Sovan left his Behala residence & is currently residing in a Golpark flat with Baisakhi Banerjee, a university lecturer & member of TMC's teachers' unit, with whom he has been having an extra-marital affair since 2009. Ratna has blamed Baisakhi (who also left her husband Manojit Mondal within 2 months of their marriage to live with Sovan) for instigating trouble in their married life. Sovan was reportedly displeased when Dulal Chandra Das was fielded as TMC's candidate for bypolls to the Maheshtala seat in 2018, which he interpreted as party supremo Mamata Banerjee siding with his estranged wife Ratna. In November 2018, Mamata Banerjee also made Sovan resign from his positions as a Minister in her cabinet & mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation due to marital problems affecting his work, which caused him to further distance himself from the party. In August 2019, Sovan, accompanied by Baisakhi, joined BJP, while Ratna continued to remain in TMC. However, Sovan wasn't much active in the party, citing lack of respect for Baisakhi. In the 2021 state elections, TMC fielded Ratna Chatterjee as its candidate from Sovan's erstwhile seat of East Behala. Sovan wanted to be fielded there as the BJP candidate against his estranged wife, however the party refused. And instead planned to field him in the neighbouring seat of West Behala. Citing this and the party's refusal to make Baisakhi a candidate in the elections, Sovan quit from the BJP alongside Baisakhi on 14 March 2021, 2 weeks before polling began.
After Sovan was arrested over the Narada sting operation, Baisakhi was recorded by the media crying before the security guards of Alipore Jail to allow her to meet him. But they refused, saying that she wasn't legally related to him. But Sovan refused to meet with Ratna, who was allowed to meet him in jail.
Sovan has also made Baisakhi his legal successor for his all properties, displacing Ratna & his son Saptarshi.
Viewsâģ
Bhangar Power Gridâģ
Chatterjee supports the restoration work of building the Bhangar Power Grid, which was stopped due to the protests of villagers over the acquisition of land. He said that outsiders with vested interests were hindering development.
Water crisisâģ
In May 2017, there were reports of water crisis in South Kolkata. Areas affected included Garden Reach, Watgunj, Kidderpore. Left Front councillors boycotted a monthly meeting of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to protest against the body's inability to solve the issue. About the complaints, Chatterjee said that the opposition was making "mountain out of a molehill".
Controversiesâģ
On 17 May 2021, he, along with senior minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, Subrata Mukherjee, MLA and former minister Madan Mitra and Firhad Hakim were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation from their house in connection with the Narada sting operation.
Referencesâģ
- ^ "Mayors of Kolkata". KMC Gov. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ "Sovan Chatterjee Wiki, Age, Bio, Height, Wife, net Worth, Assets". India 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ "Sovan Chatterjee to be new Kolkata mayor". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "2011 West Bengal Assembly election result". One India.
- ^ "Behala Purba Assembly Election result". Info Elections. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Mayor Sovan Chatterjee in Mamata's cabinet: Is it legal?". Times of India. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Supply falls, Kolkata shuts India's first fully automated abattoir". Times of India. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Z+ cover for mayor, Abhishek Banerjee". Times of India. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Sovan Chatterjee to be TMC's mayoral candidate for KMC elections". Times of India. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Sovan Chatterjee back as Kolkata mayor". The Statesman. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Sovan Chatterjee joins BJP".
- ^ "āĻļā§āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻŋāĻŦāĻžāĻšāĻŦāĻŋāĻā§āĻā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻŽāĻžāĻŽāĻ˛āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ§āĻžāĻ¨ āĻ¸āĻžāĻā§āĻˇā§ āĻŦā§āĻļāĻžāĻā§, 'āĻĄāĻŋāĻā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¸ āĻĻā§āĻŦ āĻ¨āĻž', āĻĒāĻžāĻ˛āĻāĻž āĻ°āĻ¤ā§āĻ¨āĻžāĻ°".
- ^ "Mayor's Marital Troubles Give Kolkata Reality Show".
- ^ "āĻļā§āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ§āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ¨āĻ¨, āĻ°āĻžāĻā§āĻ¯ āĻŦāĻŋāĻā§āĻĒāĻŋāĻ° āĻāĻĒāĻ° āĻā§āĻˇā§āĻŦā§āĻ§ āĻŦā§āĻļāĻžāĻā§".
- ^ "BJP āĻāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ āĻļā§āĻāĻ¨-āĻŦā§āĻļāĻžāĻā§! āĻŽā§āĻ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻĒ".
- ^ "'āĻāĻˇā§āĻ§āĻā§āĻā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¤ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¨', āĻā§āĻ˛ āĻĢāĻāĻ āĻ§āĻ°ā§ āĻšāĻžāĻĒā§āĻ¸ āĻ¨āĻ¯āĻŧāĻ¨ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨āĻž āĻŦā§āĻļāĻžāĻā§āĻ°".
- ^ "āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāĻŦāĻ°-āĻ āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāĻŦāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ¤ā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻŦā§āĻļāĻžāĻā§āĻ° āĻ¨āĻžāĻŽā§ āĻ˛āĻŋāĻā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§āĻ¨, āĻā§āĻˇāĻŖāĻž āĻāĻ°āĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ āĻļā§āĻāĻ¨".
- ^ "Sovan bats for restoration of work at Bhangar power grid". Millennium Post. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Severe water crisis in south Kolkata area". Times of India. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Narada bribery case: 2 ministers, 1 MLA arrested, Mamata rushes to CBI office". Indian Express. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
External linksâģ
- Living people
- Politicians from Kolkata
- 1964 births
- Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College alumni
- University of Calcutta alumni
- Mayors of Kolkata
- West Bengal MLAs 2011â2016
- Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal
- West Bengal MLAs 2016â2021
- Former members of Trinamool Congress
- Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal
- State cabinet ministers of West Bengal
- Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal