Kabir Suman, 59

He is one of the finest orators in Mamata’s pack. Firebrand Kabir Suman, who joined the party full-time during the Nandigram and Singur stir, pulled off a coup of sorts, trouncing CPI(M) strongman Sujan Chakraborty in Jadavpur. He has also been a journalist and has worked with the Voice of America in Washington DC. But the Suman that Bengal knows is the singer who appeared on the scene in the mid-1990s. He has composed and sung over 400 songs—his albums were sellouts and he has also acted in critically acclaimed films.

Kalyan Banerjee, 52

The legal hawk in Mamata’s team won from the Srirampur constituency with a margin of 1,37,000 votes. Banerjee, a well-known advocate in the Calcutta High Court, has been practising since 1981. Ever since he became a senior advocate in 2004, he has been active in the legal circuit. He was actively involved in a number of cases concerning Nandigram, Singur and even the Rizwanur Rahman case. He loyally and whole-heartedly stood by Mamata during her toughest agitations in Nandigram and Singur.

Choudhury Mohan Jatua, 71

The retired IPS officer and former MLA is one of Mamata’s close associates. He stepped down from the post of Saho Sabhapati of the South 24-Parganas Zilla Parishad to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Mathurapur and won by a huge margin of 1,25,892 votes. Jatua, who has served as police superintendent in restive Bankura, brings to the party plenty of experience in handling administrative matters in sensitive areas.

... contd.