Jyotirmoyee Sikdar (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian politician and former sportswoman. She served as

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

of the

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 ...

from the Krishnagar constituency 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 Nationa ...

. She was defeated in the

2009 Indian general election 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

by the actor turned politician

Tapas Paul Tapas Paul (29 September 1958 – 18 February 2020) was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen romantic collaboration with Mahua Roy Choudhury and Debashree Roy ...

of the

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 ...

. She had been reportedly inactive in politics following her defeat. In 2019, she herself pledged support to the

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 ...

and then joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

in the following year. She was a

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

and won the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

at the

1995 Asian Athletics Championships The 11th Asian Championships in Athletics were held in late September 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table ReferencesGBR Athletics {{asian athletics champs Asian Athletics Championships Asian ...

. She went on to win the bronze medal in 800 m and 1500 m events in the

1998 Asian Athletics Championships The 12th Asian Championships in Athletics were held in Fukuoka, Japan in July 1998. Medal summary Men Women Medal table See also *1998 in athletics (track and field) External linksGBR Athletics {{asian athletics champs Asian Athlet ...

and gold medal in both the events in the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998. She is a recipient of the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 1995 and the

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna The Khel Ratna Award (), officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award ( Major Dhyan Chand Sport Jewel Award), is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Governm ...

award for the year 1998–1999. She was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 2003.

Personal life

Sikdar was born on 11 December 1969 to Gurudas Sikdar and Nihar Sikdar in Debagram of

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influentia ...

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 ...

. She studied till

Higher Secondary The Higher Secondary School Certificate is a secondary qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Higher Secondary Education The Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education in Bangladesh recognises "Higher Secondary Education" unde ...

. Sikdar married Avtar Singh on 9 February 1994, with whom she has a son.

Achievements

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
* 1969 births Living people People from Krishnagar People from Nadia district Sportswomen from West Bengal Indian female middle-distance runners 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people Indian sportsperson-politicians Women in West Bengal politics Olympic athletes of India Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Asian Games India MPs 2004–2009 Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Lok Sabha members from West Bengal 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Women members of the Lok Sabha Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games {{India-athletics-bio-stub