Suranjit Sengupta
| Former Minister |
| Politician, Lawyer |
Full Name: Suranjit Sengupta
Affiliation: Bangladesh Awami League
Current Position: Deceased
Date of Birth: May 5, 1945
Date of Death:February 5, 2017
Place of Birth: Bangladesh
Home District: Sunamganj
Constituency: 225, Sunamganj-2
Term: Seventh (2nd-1979, 3rd-1986, 5th-1991, 7th-1996, 8th-2001, 9th-2008, 10th-2014)
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Profile:
Suranjit Sengupta(5 May 1945 – 5 February 2017) was a senior politician a high-ranking leader of Bangladesh Awami League. He resigned in 2012 as the first Railway Minister of Bangladesh. He was the Member of Parliament from Sunamganj-2 constituency in the National Parliament and a member of the party's advisory council. He was the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry.
Sengupta started his career as a lawyer. He became a member of Supreme Court Bar Council. He started his political career with leftist parties. In 1970's National Election of Pakistan, he was elected from the Sylhet District as a candidate of the National Awami Party in the Provincial Assembly. He participated in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 as a sub-commander of the Sector-5. In the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh, he was a vocal member of the opposition bench. In the 1973 Bangladeshi general election he stood as a nominee of the National Awami Party faction led by Muzaffar Ahmed (NAP). In 1979, he represented the Ekota Party in the House and in 1991, the Ganatantri Party. He joined Bangladesh Awami League in 1996, but lost the national election that year. But he made it to parliament through a by-election. He represented Sunamganj-2 constituency in the next three parliaments.
Sengupta was elected Member of Parliament a total of seven times, including the Second, Third, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Parliament.
On 24 February 1996, prior to the controversial elections that month, police raided his house along with those of Amir Hossain Amu and Abdur Razzak under the Special Powers Act, but were unable to locate him.
In November 2011, Sengupta was made a cabinet member of the newly formed Railways Ministry. But after a bribery scandal became known, leaders from both the Bangladesh Workers Party and the Awami League called for him to resign. He served as a minister without a portfolio. He was not selected for a cabinet position after the 2014 election.
Sengupta died on 5 February 2017 at LabAid hospital in Dhaka.
Register for comment
