Bengal election 2026: Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay eyes record 10th assembly term

Kolkata: Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, 82, will create history if he wins the Ballygunge seat this time. He is set to become the only Bengal MLA to win a record 10th consecutive term.

An octogenarian and one of Mamata Banerjee's closest associates, Chattopadhyay has been fielded from Ballygunge — the constituency formerly represented by the late Subrata Mukherjee, who won the seat in 2011, 2016 and 2021.

Speaking to TOI at his residence on Wednesday, Chattopadhyay recalled that his political journey began in the 1960s during his college days. He first entered the assembly in 1991 after winning the Baruipur seat as a Congress candidate and was re-elected from the same constituency in 1996. He later cut short his second term to join Trinamool, retaining the seat in a bypoll on a TMC ticket.

"My needs are very few, so I have dedicated myself to whatever responsibility the party has given me. I love to work; wherever I have served as an MLA, I have delivered. In the early days, even with limited MPLAD funds, we workers used crowdfunding for development. Whether it is Baruipur, Khardah or Ballygunge, I have no preference for a particular seat. Representing the party and connecting with people is what matters most," Chattopadhyay said.

A founding member of Trinamool Congress, Chattopadhyay was among the few leaders who stood by Mamata Banerjee during the party's inception. While many from the original team are no longer active, he remains one of the party's most trusted and non-controversial figures.

Recalling his father's advice upon entering politics, Chattopadhyay said, "My father told me to serve people selflessly and never take the wrong path to earn money — an advice I still follow."

In 2021, he was sent to contest from Khardah, over an hour away from Bhowanipore, and won by a margin of 93,832 votes. He noted that he commuted daily for the past six years. Regarding his shift to Ballygunge this time, he mentioned that Mamata Banerjee told him: "Dure chhilen, onek khetechhen, ebar kachhe daran".