Ashok Bhattacharya is an Indian politician and the former mayor of

Siliguri Municipal Corporation Siliguri Municipal Corporation or SMC was established in the year 1994 and has been responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Siliguri. History Siliguri Municipality was established in the year 1949. The first ...

. He is a member of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

(CPI(M)). He is a prominent leader of CPI(M) in the northern region of West Bengal. He was the Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs in the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

for three consecutive terms (1996–2011).

Early life

He was born in 1949 in

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

in Independent India. He completed his graduation from

University of North Bengal University of North Bengal (abbreviated as NBU) is a public state collegiate major research university in North Bengal region of West Bengal, which is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Be ...

in Siliguri, West Bengal.

Political career

Ashok Bhattacharya started his political career as a corporator in

. He became the chairman of

municipality in 1987 and remained as the chairman till 1991. He was elected to the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative as ...

from

Siliguri (Vidhan Sabha constituency) Siliguri Assembly constituency is an assembly constituency in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Overview As per orders of the Delimitation Commission, No. 26 Siliguri Assembly constituency covers ward nos. 1 to 30 and 45 ...

as a

CPI(M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the nati ...

candidate for the first time in 1991. He is a five-time MLA of

from

. He won elections from Siliguri in 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2016. In 1996, he became the Minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs in the Left Front Government in West Bengal under chief minister Jyoti Basu. He also continued as cabinet minister under chief minister

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also known as Buddha Babu (born 1 March 1944) is an Indian Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and ...

till 2011 when the Left Front Government lost the power to

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...

(AITC). In

2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Assembly election was held in Indian state of West Bengal in 2011 to elect the members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly as the term of the incumbent government was about to expire naturally. It was held in six phases between 18 April and 10 ...

, he was defeated by AITC candidate Rudra Nath Bhattacharya in

. But he won from

again in

2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election A Legislative Assembly election was held in 2016 for the 294 seats (out of 295 seats) of the '' Vidhan Sabha'' (Vidhān Sabhā) in the state of West Bengal in India. The All India Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee won 211 seats, and th ...

against AITC candidate and former captain of

India national football team The India national football team represents India in international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The team is affiliated to FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Indian team, which was once cons ...

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

. In May 2015, Ashok Bhattacharya became the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

after the Left Front won the municipal election in Siliguri. Ashok Bhattachrya lost the Siliguri corporation election 2021 by Md Alam Khan of TMC from ward number 6.

References

External links

Member's List West Bengal Legislative Assembly
Living people Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal West Bengal MLAs 1991–1996 West Bengal MLAs 1996–2001 West Bengal MLAs 2001–2006 West Bengal MLAs 2006–2011 West Bengal MLAs 2011–2016 West Bengal MLAs 2016–2021 People from Siliguri State cabinet ministers of West Bengal Mayors of places in West Bengal West Bengal local politicians Indian municipal councillors West Bengal municipal councillors 1948 births {{India-mayor-stub