Surjya Kanta Mishra is an Indian politician, belonging 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 ...

. He served as Minister of Health and Minister in-charge of Land & Land Reforms, Panchayats & Rural Development in the Left Front governments of

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 ...

and was the Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), West Bengal State Committee between 2015 and 2022. After the 2011 assembly election he was elected as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in 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 ...

in May 2011. He was inducted into the

politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

of the CPI(M) following the death of veteran leader M.K. Pandhe in 2011. In 2015, he was elected as the state secretary of CPI(M) in West Bengal, succeeding

Biman Bose Biman Bose (born July 1, 1938) is an Indian politician who was once state Secretary of the West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was later succeeded by his trusted aide, Surya Kanta Mishra, although he remained a Politburo member ...

Early life

Mishra was born in Khakurda in Narayangarh. He is a qualified doctor. He received his

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degree from

Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital is a public medical college in Cuttack in the Indian state of Odisha, named after Srirama Chandra Bhanja. It is one of the oldest centers of medical teaching and training in India. It is lo ...

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

in 1971 and then a Diploma in Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases in 1974. He also studied in Medinipur College and University of Calcutta.

Early political life

Mishra's emergence in the political arena happened in the early 1970s, when he joined

Students' Federation of India The Students' Federation of India (abbreviated as SFI) is an Indian left-wing student organisation politically aligned to the ideologies of Independence, Democracy and Socialism. Currently, V. P. Sanu and Mayukh Biswas are elected as the All ...

. Senior party leader

heard the then SFI leader deliver a speech in Midnapore. Bose nudged Mishra to join politics full-time. He was also involved in the peasants movement in the district and was associated with

All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 19 ...

. Surjya Kanta Mishra became a member of CPI(M) in 1973. He unsuccessfully contested the 1977 assembly election from the Narayangarh. The following year he contested a district council seat in from Narayangarh. He was elected as the Chairperson of the Medinipur Zila Parishad in 1978 and served until 1991.

Political career

In 1991, he was elected to the

and was inducted into the state cabinet as a cabinet minister. He continued to represent Narayangarh till 2016. Within his capacity as a cabinet minister he served in the Land & Land Reforms, Panchayats & Rural Development departments. He has also served as Minister-In-Charge of Health and Family Welfare, Biotechnology. He remained in the state cabinet till 2011. He became a state committee member in 1988 and a state secretariat member in 1995. He was elected to the Central committee of the party in 2002. He was elevated to the Politburo of the party in 2012. Mishra, regarded as a hardliner, was part of the team that voted against Jyoti Basu becoming prime minister of a Left supported Congress-led government in 1996. Again, he was the one who, other hardliners, thought withdrawing support to UPA-I in 2008 over the US nuke deal was right. After the defeat of the CPI(M) in the 2011 assembly election he was elected as

in the

in May 2011 and continued till 2016. He was defeated in the 2016 assembly election as a candidate in Narayangarh. In 2015, he succeeded

as the secretary of the West Bengal state committee. He is also a member of the all India working committee of

. He was re-elected as secretary of the West Bengal state committee in 2018. In 2022, he stepped down from his position as secretary of the West Bengal state committee and was succeeded by Md. Salim. He also left the membership of the state committee owing to the age-limit. He continued to be a member of the central committee and politburo of CPI(M). However, he continues to be active in the political space in the state.

Personal life

Mishra is married to Usha Misra. The couple has two daughters. Even after shifting base to Kolkata and becoming a heavy weight minister in the state cabinet, Mishra stuck to his roots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misra, Surjyakanta Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal Living people 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 State cabinet ministers of West Bengal Leaders of the Opposition in West Bengal 1949 births People from Paschim Medinipur district