Sudhindranath Kumar

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 in 1960.[1] He held the post until his death.[2] As of 1963 he was listed as the editor of the monthly Marxism Today.[3]

United Front period

Kumar served as convenor of the United Front formed ahead of the 1967 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election.[4][5][6] During the protests against the dismissal of the first United Front cabinet in 1967, Kumar was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act.[7][5] After the 1969 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Kumar was named Food and Supplies Minister in the second United Front state government.[4][8][9] The Food Minister had been given to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the coalition government, but CPI(M) opted to name Kumar as its choice for the post.[10] Kumar was seen as a CPI(M) protege at the time, Himmat magazine referred to him as the 'blue-eyed boy of Jyoti Basu'.[11][12]

First tenure as Food Minister

Kumar's tenure as minister was short and turbulent. The two elected RCPI state legislators, Anadi Das and M. Mokshed Ali, 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.[13][14] In July 1969 Kumar expelled both of the RCPI legislators from RCPI, creating a split in the party.[4] Around the same time two United Front member parties, the All India Forward Bloc and the Socialist Unity Centre of India, demanded Kumar's resignation.[15] A June 1969 edition of Himmat reported that Kumar was about to lose his ministerial post.[11] As the West Bengal Legislative Council 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.[16]

1971 elections

After the fall of the United Front cabinet, the RCPI (Sudhin Kumar group) joined the CPI(M)-led United Left Front.[17] The front, which was formally constituted in May 1970, had Kumar as its convenor.[12] Kumar, along with Hare Krishna Konar of CPI(M), was tasked with drafting the joint electoral manifesto.[9]

Kumar won the Howrah Central seat, defeating the candidates of Congress(O), Bangla Congress as well as his former party comrade Anadi Das.[18] He obtained 12,616 votes (39.80%).[18] However, in the subsequent 1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Kumar lost the Howrah Central seat to Mrityunjoy Banerjee.[19] Kumar finished in second place with 15,870 votes (37.77%).[19]

Second tenure as Food Minister

Kumar regained the Howrah Central seat in the 1977 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election.[20] He obtained 21,502 votes (44.50%).[20] After the 1977 election, Kumar was named Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the first Left Front cabinet.[21][22]

Kumar lost the Howrah Central seat to Congress(I) candidate Ambica Banerjee in the 1982 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election.[23] Kumar finished in second place with 29,785 votes (43.34%).[23] After having lost his assembly seat, Kumar lost his post as minister.[24] Bimalananda Mukherjee replaced him as the RCPI representative in the Left Front government.[25][26]

Kumar died in 1984.[2]

References
  1. Alexander, Robert J.. Trotskyism in India
  2. The Annual Register of Indian Political Parties. Michiko & Panjathan. 1984. p. 256.
  3. Press in India. Office of the Registrar of Newspapers. 1964. p. 519.
  4. S. N. Sadasivan (1977). Party and democracy in India. Tata McGraw-Hill. p. 90.
  5. British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service (November 1967). Summary of World Broadcasts: Far East. Monitoring Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
  6. Swarajya. 13 (1–13 ed.). 1968.
  7. Saroj Chakrabarty (1978). With West Bengal chief ministers: memoirs, 1962 to 1977. Chakrabarty. p. 269.
  8. Intercontinental Press. 7. Intercontinental Press. 1969. p. 275.
  9. Notes et études documentaires (3851–3874 ed.). La Documentation Française. 1972. p. 76.
  10. Now. 6. S. Sen. p. 109.
  11. Himmat. 5. 1969. p. 17.
  12. Anjali Ghosh (1981). Peaceful Transition to Power: A Study of Marxist Political Strategies in West Bengal, 1967–1977. Firma KLM. pp. , 93, 111.
  13. Indian Recorder and Digest. 15. 1969. p. 69.
  14. Economic and Political Weekly. 4 (11–26 ed.). Sameeksha Trust. 1969. p. 866.
  15. Socialism and communism in India. 1971. p. 381.
  16. M. V. S. Koteswara Rao (2003). Communist parties and United Front experience in Kerala and West Bengal. Prajasakti Book House. p. 266. ISBN 978-81-86317-37-2.
  17. Political Science Review. 18–19. Department of Political Science, University of Rajasthan. 1979. p. 31.
  18. Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1971 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
  19. Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1972 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
  20. Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1977 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
  21. Asian Recorder. K. K. Thomas at Recorder Press. 1982. p. lviii.
  22. The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who. 1978. p. 873.
  23. Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1982 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
  24. India Today. West Bengal: Seating scrap
  25. Janata. 37. 1982. p. 214.
  26. Data India. Press Institute of India. 1982. p. 323.
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