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Tag: Babul Supriyo

  • Babul Supriyo: From singer to BJP’s poster boy to Mamata’s minister

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Babul Supriyo, who was on Wednesday sworn in as a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, has had a roller-coaster ride, from being a popular playback singer to BJP’s poster boy in West Bengal to joining the TMC government.

    Supriyo started off as a city banker who rose to be a BJP minister at the Centre after a chance meeting with yoga guru Ramdev, but suddenly found himself out in the cold after losing an assembly election from Tollygunge last year by a huge margin of 50,000 votes.

    However, Supriyo bounced back to win the prestigious Ballygunge constituency in April for his new party – the Trinamool Congress – which he joined in September 2021 in a surprise move.

    Born in West Bengal’s Uttarpara as Supriya Baral in 1970, he changed his name to Babul Supriyo while trying his luck as a Bollywood singer after quitting his banking job.

    After a successful stint as a Hindi playback singer, Supriyo entered politics in 2014, getting a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections for the BJP from West Bengal on Ramdev’s recommendation.

    He surprised everyone by defeating TMC’s Dola Sen from the industrial town of Asansol and was made the Union Minister of State for Urban Development.

    Two years later, he was shifted to the Ministry for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises during a reshuffle in July 2016.

    In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Supriyo’s winning streak continued when he defeated TMC’s Moon Moon Sen by a huge margin of 1.97 lakh votes.

    This time the Bollywood singer was named the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

    Supriyo was again pitted in April 2021, as the BJP candidate for Tollygunge Assembly constituency, which has as its centerpiece the movie studio known as Tollywood, against three-time TMC MLA Aroop Biswas.

    The two-time BJP MP had then promised he would end Biswas’s “dictatorship” in Tollywood.

    However, this time round his streak of luck seemed to have run out.

    Supriyo lost by over 50,000 votes.

    Things also started going sour in his relationship with BJP’s top leadership and he was eventually dropped from the Union Cabinet.

    The perturbed 50-year-old singer, whose instinctive first reaction was that he would “quit” politics after being dropped from the ministry, ultimately joined the TMC after party supremo Mamata Banerjee and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee extended an offer to him.

    ““It was with great disillusionment that I had announced that I would quit politics. A great opportunity has been extended by Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and Abhishek Banerjee and I am happy to accept that. I was expecting something more after seven years as a Union Minister of State. Then differences started growing with the party,”” Supriyo had said after joining the TMC last year.

    Though his victory in Ballygunge earlier this year was marred by a campaign of “no vote for Supriyo” undertaken by some groups in the constituency, Supriyo, true to his roller coaster style won the seat by over 20,000 votes against his CPI(M) rival Saira Shah Halim, who emerged in the second position.

    Interestingly, his former party’s Keya Ghosh came a distant third.

    KOLKATA: Babul Supriyo, who was on Wednesday sworn in as a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, has had a roller-coaster ride, from being a popular playback singer to BJP’s poster boy in West Bengal to joining the TMC government.

    Supriyo started off as a city banker who rose to be a BJP minister at the Centre after a chance meeting with yoga guru Ramdev, but suddenly found himself out in the cold after losing an assembly election from Tollygunge last year by a huge margin of 50,000 votes.

    However, Supriyo bounced back to win the prestigious Ballygunge constituency in April for his new party – the Trinamool Congress – which he joined in September 2021 in a surprise move.

    Born in West Bengal’s Uttarpara as Supriya Baral in 1970, he changed his name to Babul Supriyo while trying his luck as a Bollywood singer after quitting his banking job.

    After a successful stint as a Hindi playback singer, Supriyo entered politics in 2014, getting a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections for the BJP from West Bengal on Ramdev’s recommendation.

    He surprised everyone by defeating TMC’s Dola Sen from the industrial town of Asansol and was made the Union Minister of State for Urban Development.

    Two years later, he was shifted to the Ministry for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises during a reshuffle in July 2016.

    In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Supriyo’s winning streak continued when he defeated TMC’s Moon Moon Sen by a huge margin of 1.97 lakh votes.

    This time the Bollywood singer was named the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

    Supriyo was again pitted in April 2021, as the BJP candidate for Tollygunge Assembly constituency, which has as its centerpiece the movie studio known as Tollywood, against three-time TMC MLA Aroop Biswas.

    The two-time BJP MP had then promised he would end Biswas’s “dictatorship” in Tollywood.

    However, this time round his streak of luck seemed to have run out.

    Supriyo lost by over 50,000 votes.

    Things also started going sour in his relationship with BJP’s top leadership and he was eventually dropped from the Union Cabinet.

    The perturbed 50-year-old singer, whose instinctive first reaction was that he would “quit” politics after being dropped from the ministry, ultimately joined the TMC after party supremo Mamata Banerjee and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee extended an offer to him.

    ““It was with great disillusionment that I had announced that I would quit politics. A great opportunity has been extended by Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and Abhishek Banerjee and I am happy to accept that. I was expecting something more after seven years as a Union Minister of State. Then differences started growing with the party,”” Supriyo had said after joining the TMC last year.

    Though his victory in Ballygunge earlier this year was marred by a campaign of “no vote for Supriyo” undertaken by some groups in the constituency, Supriyo, true to his roller coaster style won the seat by over 20,000 votes against his CPI(M) rival Saira Shah Halim, who emerged in the second position.

    Interestingly, his former party’s Keya Ghosh came a distant third.

  • Ballygunge bypoll: Defeated CPM nominee Saira Halim gets in Twitter spat with winner Babul Supriyo

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Ballygunge assembly seat byelection winner Babul Supriyo of the Trinamool Congress and runner-up Saira Shah Halim of the CPM entered into a battle of words on social media on Sunday, with the former BJP MP attacking her for showing “no class” after defeat and terming the Left party’s campaign as “below the belt”.

    Taking to Twitter to retaliate, Halim said that her party believes in a classless society where the rich and the poor will not be differentiated by the wealth and property they own. “I am relieved that we won Ballygunge defeating the vile, dirty, often below the belt, personal & false propaganda of @CPIM_WESTBENGAL,” Supriyo tweeted.

    And, now the lady who’s a loser by people’s verdict, doesn’t show the grace to accept the defeat but instead goes ahead to call me ‘Corrupt’But I will humbly & calmly enjoy the win letting her sulk in the pain of the loss Proves#EducationDoNotMakeOneEducated #LoserBjpCpim https://t.co/AY9eMnVXOU
    — Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) April 16, 2022
    Supriyo, who joined the TMC in September last year after being dropped as a minister of state from the Narendra Modi government, claimed that BJP candidate Keya Ghosh had her deposit forfeited for getting less than 6 per cent of the total votes cast.

    The newly-elected MLA from the prestigious Ballygunge seat in south Kolkata earlier tweeted, “Even after a filthy deplorable campaign full of lies & deceit @CPIM_WESTBENGAL & Saira Shah Halim shows no class, forget shame.”

    He also sought to remind the CPM that it has no representation in the West Bengal assembly with the Left Front not winning any seat in the 2021 elections in the state.

    Reacting to Supriyo’s tweets, Halim tweeted, “We believe in a classless society, where rich and poor will not be differentiated by the wealth and property they own. Anyone who judges me as having ‘no class’, knows what he is fighting against.”

    We believe in a classless society,where rich and poor will not be differentiated by the wealth and property they own.Anyone who judges me as having “no class”, knows what he is fighting against.
    — Saira Shah Halim ‏‎‎سائرہ (@sairashahhalim) April 17, 2022
    Accusing the CPM of resorting to a communal campaign in the byelection to Ballygunge, where more than 50 per cent of the electorate are from the minority community, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “It may have got some votes, but that does not mean a revival of the CPM is on the cards.”

    Ghosh said that the TMC leadership will look into how the Left party got more votes than what it had bagged in the last elections. He said that the CPM’s performance in the Asansol Lok Sabha by-election, which was won by the TMC’s Shatrughan Sinha with the BJP coming second, has been disastrous.

    Rising from just 5.61 per cent of the vote share in Ballygunge in the 2021 assembly elections, the CPIM) candidate notched up over 30 per cent of the votes polled in the by-poll, leaving behind the BJP to come up to the second position.

    The CPM last won from Ballygunge in 2001 and secured a third position behind the TMC and the BJP in the 2021 elections, which her husband Fuad Halim had contested.

  • Ballygunge by-poll: Babul Supriyo confident of winning election, says West Bengal is with ‘Didi’, TMC

    By ANI

    BALLYGUNGE: As the counting of votes cast in the by-poll to the Ballygunge Assembly seat is underway, TMC candidate Babul Supriyo on Saturday exuded confidence in winning the election and said the people of West Bengal are with Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.

    “I’m confident. The 41 per cent voters turnout here rubbished the opposition’s unnecessary claim of false voting. Had that been the case, would turnout have been this huge? West Bengal is with Didi and TMC”, said Babul Supriyo.

    The by-polls were necessitated after former Union Minister Babul Supriyo resigned as the Lok Sabha MP of Asansol after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He later joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Ballygunge Assembly seat by-poll was necessitated after the demise of state Minister Subrata Mukherjee.

    Speaking on the Asansol Lok Sabha by-poll, Supriyo said, “Asansol has given me much love and I will always appreciate it. Shatrughan Sinha’s victory is also certain. Before reaching the final phase of the result every moment is interesting and let’s enjoy the journey.”

    The TMC has fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population, while the BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul from the constituency.

    In the state Assembly elections last year, Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 213 seats while BJP on the other hand garnered 77 seats in the 294-seat state Assembly.

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Supriyo had defeated TMC candidate Moon Moon Sen by a massive margin of 1,97,637 votes, securing 51.56 per cent of the total votes polled. In 2014, Supriyo’s victory margin was 70,480 votes.

    Bye-election to a Ballygunge Assembly seat and Asansol Lok Sabha seat was held on April 12.

    On the polling day, BJP’s Lok Sabha by-poll candidate Agnimitra Paul alleged that TMC workers thrashed her security personnel and pelted stones at her convoy while TMC candidate Babul Supriyo alleged electoral malpractice by BJP. 

  • TMC candidates Shatrughan Sinha, Babul Supriyo file nominations for by-polls in Bengal

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress candidates Shatrughan Sinha and Babul Supriyo on Monday filed their nominations for by-polls to a Lok Sabha and an assembly seat to be held on April 12 in West Bengal.

    Sinha has been fielded for by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency, while Supriyo was nominated for the Ballygunge Assembly seat.

    Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination at Alipore Survey Building, Supriyo said, “I am thankful to ‘Didi’ (TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee) for giving me this opportunity to contest from the presitigious Ballygunge constituency. I am really honoured and accept the challenge.”

    The bypoll to Asansol was necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the BJP MP after joining the TMC in September last year. The Ballygunge Assembly seat is going for polls as incumbent MLA and state minister Subrata Mukherjee died in November 2021.

    Sinha, a former BJP leader, filed his nomination at the office of the district magistrate of Paschim Bardhaman.

    The actor-turned-politician had Sunday taken a jibe at the BJP for labelling him as an outsider, wondering what the saffron party makes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi contesting from Varanasi. “If for national figures like the PM, contesting the Lok Sabha polls from anywhere is accepted, then the same holds true for me as well,” he had said.

    By-polls to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and the Ballygunje assembly seat will be held on April 12, and votes will be counted on April 16.

  • Decision to quit BJP prompted by politics of hatred practised in party: Babul Supriyo

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: TMC candidate for Ballygunge assembly by-poll, Babul Supriyo, who switched over to the Mamata Banerjee-led party from the BJP last September, on Friday said his decision to quit the saffron party was prompted by politics of “hatred and divisiveness” practised by its members.

    The former MP had left the BJP shortly after losing his ministerial berth at the Centre.

    Often trolled on social media over his decision to switch camps, Supriyo on Friday, tagging Bengal BJP’s official page, tweeted, “My decision to quit was prompted by the politics of hatred, divisiveness (practised in the saffron camp). I could no longer reconcile to such brand of politics.”

    Asserting that he would do whatever was needed to protect the heritage, culture and secular values of Bengal, Supriyo said, “People of Asansol know I had never practiced the sectarian and narrow 70:30 or 80:20 politics in Bengal and will never do that.”

    The Left had accused the former minister of fuelling communal sentiments following a riot in Asansol area of Paschim Bardhaman district in 2018.

    Alleging that he was betrayed by the BJP leadership in Bengal, Supriyo stated, “I would work to uphold the motto of unity in diversity.” He also said that “he could not accept the regular insults made to Bengalis, the refusal to acknowledge the good work of a Bengali”.

    Responding to his allegations, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh wondered why he “woke up to the true character of the BJP this late”. “We never saw such a treacherous personality before,” he said.

    “If he thinks Bengalis are not getting due recognition, how come he was made a union minister by Shri Narendra Modi in 2014, despite being a new entrant in politics? He was a singer and had no political background. Has he forgotten how he was defeated by the TMC in Tollygunje last year?” Ghosh said.

    Echoing him, BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra said it was “ironical that Supriyo did not discover these traits and vices” when he was a minister “We are lucky to have got ridden of such unprincipled unethical person,” Hazra said.

  • Trinamool will do very well in Goa Assembly polls: Babul Supriyo

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Trinamool Congress leader Babul Supriyo on Monday expressed confidence that his party will do “very well” in the Goa Assembly elections due early next year.

    Several TMC leaders, including Supriyo and party MPs Mahua Moitra and Saugata Roy, have arrived in Goa ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC head Mamata Banerjee’s visit to the state scheduled on October 28.

    The TMC has already announced its decision to contest the Assembly elections in Goa.

    The forthcoming Goa Assembly poll is an important election and the “TMC will do very well in it,” Supriyo told reporters.

    “This (Goa) is one place in India which should see a lot of development to make it more tourist-friendly,” said Supriyo, who joined the TMC last month after quitting the BJP.

    He said Goa is known for its culture, tradition, music and wonderful beaches.

    “A lot more can be done here,” he added.

    Last month, former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro joined the TMC, while state Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar has also extended support to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

    The TMC last week appointed Faleiro as its vice president.

    The party has been inducting several local leaders in its fold ever since it announced its intention to contest the Goa Assembly polls.

    Elections to the 40-member House in the state are due in February 2022.

  • Ex-BJP leader Babul Supriyo formally resigns as MP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former BJP leader Babul Supriyo formally resigned as an MP on Tuesday, a month after he quit the party to join the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.

    Supriyo thanked the BJP leadership for the confidence they had shown in him.

    “My heart is heavy as I had began my political career with the BJP. I thank the PM, party chief, and Amit Shah. They showed confidence in me. I had left politics wholeheartedly. I thought that if I am not a part of the party, I should not keep any seat for myself,” he said after meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

    The development comes after the two-term MP from West Bengal’s Asansol had on September 20 — two days after joining the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress party — written to Birla, seeking a “brief” appointment with him to formally resign as a member of the House.

    The singer-turned-politician has repeatedly stressed that he did not want to continue as an MP since he was no longer a member of the party for which he won the seat.

  • Babul Supriyo to formally resign as MP on Tuesday

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former BJP leader Babul Supriyo will formally resign as MP on Tuesday, he said in a tweet, weeks after he quit the party to join the TMC.

    In a tweet, the former union minister on Monday thanked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for granting him appointment to resign as Lok Sabha MP.

    “Sincere Gratitude to Hon’ble Speaker Sir @ombirlakota for granting me his time tmrw at 11 am to formally resign as a MP. I will not hold on to the Berth/Perks/Salary of a MP now that I am no longer a part of @BJP4India that I won the seat for. If I have it in me, will win it again,” Supriyo tweeted.

    This comes after the two-term MP from Asansol had on September 20 — two days after joining West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress party — wrote to Birla, seeking a “brief” appointment with him to formally resign as a member of the house.

    Hitting out at his detractors, Supriyo reminded them of his time with the saffron party.

    “Just wish to ask one Ques (question) to the ‘Employed Trolls’ who am sure are attacking me frm (from) their homes. So where were u (you) guys when I fought for BJP since 2014? Ask your conscience as to who back-stabbed whom…Unless needed I don’t post anything on SM (social media). Just read the first two comments,” he said.

  • Sought appointment with Speaker to submit resignation but no response from him: Supriyo

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former BJP MP Babul Supriyo on Friday claimed that he has sought an appointment with the Lok Sabha Speaker to submit his resignation but has not heard anything from the office of Om Birla.

    In a series of tweets, the Asansol MP claimed he has confirmed about his parting ways with the BJP and was waiting for the Speaker to give him time.

    “Have parted ways with @BJP4India & had confirmed long before that, unlike many others who hold on to their MP seat inspite of changing Parties, I am not going to do so & shall resign as soon as Hon’ble Speaker Sir grants me his time. Attaching proof of vacating my Bunglow,” he said.

    The MP, who joined the TMC recently, also said his fellow Lok Sabha colleague and senior politician Saugata Roy has also requested the speaker to respond in the matter.

    Supriyo, reacting to reports that claimed he had never called the Office of the Speaker for an appointment after announcing his decision to resign, tweeted a letter he wrote to Birla on September 20 seeking time.

    “With due respect to the High Office of Hon’ble Speaker Shri @ombirlakota I very humble present the official letter I sent on the 20th of Sept which also bears a ‘Received’ acknowledgment from Hon’ble Sir’s office. A separate request for the same was made by Shri @SaugataRoyMP too,” Supriyo tweeted.

    He also said that both he and TMC’s Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien were in touch with the Speaker’s office on the issue on a daily basis.

    “I also personally spoke to his OSD since I had to leave for Kolkata. It’s disappointing that a completely unnecessary controversy has cropped up about this,” he said.

    O’Brien confirmed his party colleague’s version and even clarified that the letter did not have a stamp of receipt because that is not Parliament protocol.

    “The protocol is that these letters are NOT stamped by the receiver. Even in Parliament. Letters are NOT stamped. Countless calls were made to the Hon. LS Speaker’s office by @SaugataRoyMP and my office. And the sitting LS MP concerned also called. How long can they stall you?” O’Brien tweeted.

    Sources said that the Lok Sabha Secretariat maintained that the letter sent by Suprito did not mention that he sought time to resign.

    In fact, the letter tweeted by Supriyo also did not say that he wished to meet with the Speaker about his resignation.

    Sources in Lok Sabha Secretariat said Lok Sabha Speaker regularly meets MPs even without prior appointments.

    The Speaker’s office doors are always open for MPs, they said.

    The singer-turned-politician began his political career by joining the BJP in 2014 where he won the Lok Sabha elections from Asansol and repeated his performance in 2019.

    Supriyo held many portfolios as the minister of state in multiple ministries till he was dropped in the first reshuffle of the Modi government in July.

    Supriyo surprised many by going to Kolkata and joining the Trinamool Congress on September 18, weeks after he publicly claimed that he was quitting politics.

  • Mamata Banerjee among top frontrunners for PM in 2024: Babul Supriyo after joining TMC

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: Former union minister Babul Supriyo, who recently joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is among the top frontrunners for the prime ministerial post in 2024.

    “I want that the captain of our party Mamata Banerjee becomes the Prime Minister in 2024. Opposition plays an important role in a democratic system. Nobody can deny the fact that Mamata Banerjee is among the top frontrunners for the prime ministerial post,” Supriyo told ANI.

    Notably, TMC’s party mouthpiece ‘Jaago Bangla’ had recently sparked a row by saying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has failed to become an alternative face to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the potential alternative to Prime Minister Modi.

    Asked about why he switched to the TMC, Supriyo said, “I have not created any history by changing the party. A horde of leaders joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from other parties before the West Bengal Assembly polls. There are resentments among the old leaders. BJP should ask them about their resentments.”

    On post-poll violence, he said, “Post-poll violence is not desirable. It is being proved. I want that compensation should be provided to people who were affected by post-poll violence.”

    The former Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change had on Saturday formally joined TMC had quit the BJP following the recent Union Cabinet reshuffle.

    The sitting MP joined the Trinamool family in the presence of National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien.

    After joining TMC, Supriyo had told ANI, “I accepted the opportunity given to me by Didi (Mamata Banerjee) and Abhishek. I left politics wholeheartedly and I am accepting the opportunity wholeheartedly. I met Abhishek Banerjee. The work to be done for Bengal was presented before me. I am excited. I want to work under the leadership of Didi. I will meet Didi on Monday.”

    Earlier in August, BJP leader Babul Supriyo said he will continue to work constitutionally as a Member of Parliament but had withdrawn himself from active politics.

    “I will continue to work constitutionally as an MP in Asansol. Politics is beyond the constitutional post and I withdraw myself from it. I will not join any other party. I will vacate the MP bungalow in Delhi and release security personnel from their duties soon,” Supriyo had told ANI.

    Supriyo had announced he was leaving politics and will also resign as an MP. He had stated that he would not join any political party and neither have the parties including the Trinamool Congress, CPI(M) or Congress called him.

    Babul Supriyo had resigned in August as minister of state for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. In a Facebook post, he said that there was a difference of opinion between him and the state BJP leaders and that the difference of opinion among senior leaders was “harming the party”.