Sudhindranath Kumar
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Sudhindranath Kumar (died 1984) was an Indian politician, belonging to the Revolutionary Communist Party of India. He served as general secretary of the party 1960–1984, represented Howrah Central constituency in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and served as Food Minister of the state in 1969 and 1977–1982.


Howrah conference

Kumar became the general secretary of the RCPI (Pannanlal Dasgupta group) at the All India Conference held in
Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...
in 1960.Alexander, Robert J..
Trotskyism in India
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He held the post until his death. As of 1963 he was listed as the editor of the monthly ''Marxism Today''.


United Front period

Kumar served as convenor of the
United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...
formed ahead of the
1967 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election The West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, 1967 was held in Indian state of West Bengal in 1967 to elect 280 members to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. United Front led by Ajoy Mukherjee won majority of seats in the election, and formed ...
. During the protests against the dismissal of the first
United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...
cabinet in 1967, Kumar was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act. After the
1969 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Elections were held in Indian state of West Bengal in February 1969 to elect 280 members to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. United Front formed the government with Ajoy Mukherjee as the Chief Minister. United Front won a landslide 214 seats ...
Kumar was named Food and Supplies Minister in the second United Front state government. The Food Minister had been given to 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 ...
in the coalition government, but CPI(M) opted to name Kumar as its choice for the post. Kumar was seen as a CPI(M) protege at the time, ''Himmat'' magazine referred to him as the 'blue-eyed boy of Jyoti Basu'.


First tenure as Food Minister

Kumar's tenure as minister was short and turbulent. The two elected RCPI state legislators,
Anadi Das Anadi Das was an Indian politician, belonging to the Revolutionary Communist Party of India. Das was a Central Committee member of RCPI. Das contested the Howrah West constituency seat of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in the 1957 e ...
and
M. Mokshed Ali M. Mokshed Ali was an Indian politician, belonging to the Revolutionary Communist Party of India. Ali won the Santipur seat in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in the 1969 election. Ali and the other RCPI legislator Anandi Das were expell ...
, accused Kumar of having tried to coerce them to resign in order for Kumar to be able to contest their seats in a by-poll. In July 1969 Kumar expelled both of the RCPI legislators from RCPI, creating a split in the party. Around the same time two United Front member parties, the
All India Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc ( AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party a ...
and the
Socialist Unity Centre of India The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C), previously called the Socialist Unity Centre of India and "Socialist Unity Centre", is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibda ...
, demanded Kumar's resignation. A June 1969 edition of '' Himmat'' reported that Kumar was about to lose his ministerial post. As the
West Bengal Legislative Council West Bengal Legislative Council was the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, which came into existence in 1952. Abolition The Council was abolished in 1969. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed the ...
was abolished in August 1969 (to which Kumar, in theory, had a chance to get elected) and none of the elected legislators had been willing to resign to enable Kumar to get elected, Kumar was forced to resign from his ministerial post.


1971 elections

After the fall of the United Front cabinet, the RCPI (Sudhin Kumar group) joined the CPI(M)-led United Left Front. The front, which was formally constituted in May 1970, had Kumar as its convenor. Kumar, along with Hare Krishna Konar of CPI(M), was tasked with drafting the joint electoral manifesto. Kumar won the Howrah Central seat, defeating the candidates of
Congress(O) The Indian National Congress (Organisation) also known as Congress (O) or Syndicate/Old Congress was a political party in India formed when the Congress party split following the expulsion of Indira Gandhi. On 12 November 1969, the Prime Ministe ...
, Bangla Congress as well as his former party comrade Anadi Das.Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1971 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
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He obtained 12,616 votes (39.80%). However, in the subsequent
1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of West Bengal on March 11, 1972. Background The election was the 4th assembly election in West Bengal within six years. President's Rule had been introduced soon after the 1971 West ...
Kumar lost the Howrah Central seat to Mrityunjoy Banerjee.Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1972 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
'
Kumar finished in second place with 15,870 votes (37.77%).


Second tenure as Food Minister

Kumar regained the Howrah Central seat in the
1977 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections was held in the Indian state of West Bengal on 14 June 1977. The polls took place after the ousting of Indira Gandhi's government at the Centre. The Left Front won a landslide victory. The 1977 election marked th ...
.Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1977 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
'
He obtained 21,502 votes (44.50%). After the 1977 election, Kumar was named Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the first Left Front cabinet. Kumar lost the Howrah Central seat to
Congress(I) 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 ...
candidate
Ambica Banerjee Ambica Banerjee (28 August 1928 – 25 April 2013) was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha. He was elected as a Trinamool Congress candidate from Howrah (Lok Sabha constituency). Banerjee was born in 1928 to Shri Anilmohon Banerjee and Shyama Devi i ...
in the
1982 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of West Bengal in 1982. The Left Front, which had won the 1977 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, emerged victoriously. The Indian National Congress emerged as the main oppo ...
.Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1982 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
'
Kumar finished in second place with 29,785 votes (43.34%). After having lost his assembly seat, Kumar lost his post as minister.''India Today''.

'
Bimalananda Mukherjee Bimalananda Mukherjee was an Indian politician, belonging to the Revolutionary Communist Party of India. Mukherjee was arrested during the 1959 Food Movement struggle, along with other left leaders. As of 1960 he was the editor of ''Janasadharan ...
replaced him as the RCPI representative in the Left Front government. Kumar died in 1984.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Sudhindranath Revolutionary Communist Party of India politicians 1984 deaths State cabinet ministers of West Bengal West Bengal MLAs 1971–1972 West Bengal MLAs 1977–1982 Year of birth missing