Saumitra Khan (born 8 December 1980) is an Indian politician representing the Bishnupur constituency of West Bengal in 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-past ...

since

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He joined

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 2019 and currently (as of December 2020) serves as the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) (translation: Indian People's Youth Front) is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the two major political parties in India. It was founded in 1978, and its first national president w ...

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 ...

. Khan started his career with

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

party and was elected to

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 Katulpur constituency. In 2013, he switched to the ruling

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 ...

. In the

2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...

, he was elected to the

from Bishnupur constituency. In early 2019, he defected to

, the ruling party at the centre. Following his defection, a police case was lodged against him for allegedly extorting money from job aspirants. The

Kolkata High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court buildi ...

prevented him from entering his constituency. He won with a margin of more than 78,000 votes without even holding any political rally in the area.

Personal life

Khan was born in a

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Benga ...

family of Shunri jati on 8 December 1980 to Dhanonjoy Khan and Chhaya Rani Khan at

Durlabhpur Durlabhpur (also spelled Durlovpur) is a village in the Gangajalghati CD block in the Bankura Sadar subdivision of the Bankura district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Durlabhpur is located at Area overview The map a ...

Bankura district Bankura district (Pron: bãkuɽa) is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of Medinipur division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. Bankura district is surrounded by Purba Bardhaman distri ...

. He studied at

Panchmura Mahavidyalaya Panchmura Mahavidyalaya, established in 1965, is the first rural general college in Panchmura, Taldangra Block, Bankura district, India. It offers undergraduate as well as post-graduate courses in arts, sciences, commerce and Physical Educati ...

. When his wife, Sujata Mondal Khan, joined the rival party, All India Trinamool Congress, Saumitra Khan filed divorce. And on 7.02.2023, with the order of the honorable court of Bankura he got divorced, This has led to an ongoing controversy in West Bengal politics. Another controversy occurred when he demanded a separate state of Junglemahal state.

Political career

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 ...

, Khan was elected to the assembly from Katulpur constituency as a candidate of the

party. On 12 December 2013, he announced his intention to join the ruling

party. He alleged that the state Congress unit was ignoring the

. Four days later, he officially joined Trinamool Congress party. In

, Khan was elected to the

16th Lok Sabha Members of the 16th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2014 Indian general election. The elections were conducted in 9 phases from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014 by the Election Commission of India. The results of the election were declared on 16 M ...

from Bishnupur constituency. After getting elected, he said that his priority as an MP would be to develop Bishnupur as a tourist spot and to protect the rights of workers who make Baluchari Sari. On 9 January 2019, he defected to

. Subsequently, he was expelled by his former party. ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' reported that

Mukul Roy Mukul Roy (born 17 April 1954) is an Indian politician from West Bengal belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress. He has also served as a Minister of State in the Shipping Ministry and later Ministry of Railways during the second UPA gov ...

, who himself defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party played an important role in recruiting Khan. The "dynastic rule" in the Trinamool Congress and the political violence in the state were the reasons cited by Khan to switch parties. In February 2019 it was alleged that Khan had extorted money from job aspirants on false promises. The

announced that he could not be arrested though it prevented him from entering Bankura. In the following month, Khan was interrogated by the Bankura police. On 12 April, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

refused to overturn the ban on him although he was allowed to enter the district for filing his nomination papers. In the absence of Khan, his wife Sujata Khan started campaigning for him for the upcoming

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Khan managed to win from the same constituency with a margin of 78,047 votes even without holding any roadshow or addressing any political rally.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Saumitra India MPs 2014–2019 Living people Lok Sabha members from West Bengal 1980 births People from Bankura district India MPs 2019–present Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal West Bengal MLAs 2011–2016