Basudeb Acharia (11 July 1942 – 13 November 2023) was an Indian

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

politician and a leader of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) 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 na ...

political party. His ancestors were originally from Present-day Tamil Nadu, who settled in Bengal in 16th century. He considered himself to be a

Early life

The son of Kanai Lal Acharia and Konak Lata Acharia, he was born in Bero in

Purulia district Purulia district (Pron: puruliːaː) is one of the twenty-three districts of West Bengal state in Eastern India. Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district. Some of the other important towns of Purulia district are Raghunathpur- ...

. He lived in Kantaranguni, P.O.

Adra The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...

, in Purulia district. He held a M.A. and B.T.

Early political life

Acharia was elected for the first time to the

7th Lok Sabha List of Members of the 7th Lok Sabha, (18 January 1980 – 31 December 1984) elected December 1979 – January 1980. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India nine sitting members from Rajya Sabha were el ...

from Bankura constituency in 1980. Acharia was a member of the Puruliya district committee of CPI(M). In 1981, he was inducted in the district secretariat of the CPI(M)'s Puruliya district committee. From 1985 until his death, he was a member of the

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 na ...

West Bengal State Committee.

Political career

Acharia was re-elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

repeatedly in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2009. While in Lok Sabha he was associated with Committee on Railways, member, Rules Committee, General Purposes Committee, Committee on Security in Parliament Complex, and Committee on Installation of Portraits/Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarian in Parliament House. Acharia served as the chairman, Committee on Public Undertakings from 1990 to 1991.Between 1993 and 96 he was the chairman, Committee on Government Assurances. From 1990 to 1996 he was a member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Railways. In 1996–97 he was the chairman, Committee on Railways and a Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Industry. In 1998–99 he was the Convenor, Sub-Committee on Power, Committee on Energy and a Special Invitee, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Railways. Between 1999 and 2004 he was the chairman, Committee on Petitions. Acharia was elected as leader of the

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 nat ...

Parliamentary Party in the

14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nation ...

in 2004 after

Somnath Chatterjee Somnath Chatterjee (25 July 1929 – 13 August 2018) was an Indian politician who was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he had been a non affiliated independent during his last decade. He was t ...

was elected as Lok Sabha Speaker. He was a member of several parliamentary committees. In 2007, he was made the chairman, Committee on Railways. In 2005, he was elected as a member of the Central Committee of the

from the 18th party congress held at

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. He was also one of the All India Vice-presidents of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions. In 2009, he was re-elected as the leader of the CPI (M) Parliamentary Party in the

15th Lok Sabha Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee. Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...

. From August 2009 to 2014, he served as the chairman, Committee on Agriculture. Acharia visited several nations as a parliamentarian. Acharia was a senior trade union leader. He was one of the vice-presidents of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, also of DVC Shramik Union, Colliery Mazdoor Sabha. He was a member of the General Council of the CITU and its member of West Bengal State Working Committee. He was also the President of Purulia District CITU. Acharia served as a President of West Bengal Railway Contractor Labour Union, DVC Contractor Workers Union, LIC Agent Organisation of India, Thikadar Sramik Union (at Santaldih Thermal Power Station) and at Damodar Cement & Slag Workers Union. Acharia lost the 2014 Lok Sabha election to

Moonmoon Sen Moon Moon Sen, also credited as Moonmoon Sen (born Srimati Sen; 28 March 1954), is an Indian actress, known for her works in Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi films. She eventually starred in Bollywood films. She ...

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 ...

. During 2018 Panchayat elections he was attacked by the Trinamool Congress and was left bloodied and injured while leading a procession with candidates for filing nomination at Kashipur in Puruliya. Acharia remained in the state committee till 2018 and in the central committee until 2022. Between 2018 and 2022, he was the chairman of CPI(M)'s central control commission. During 2018 to 2022, he was also made an invited member of CPI(M) state committee.

Personal life and death

Acharia married Rajlakhsmi on 25 February 1975. The couple had one son and two daughters. Basudeb Acharia died in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

on 13 November 2023, at the age of 81.

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acharia, Basudeb 1942 births 2023 deaths Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal Trade unionists from West Bengal People from Purulia district India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 Ranchi University alumni University of Calcutta alumni India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 Lok Sabha members from West Bengal People from Bankura Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidates in the 2014 Indian general election