Sisir Adhikary, 69

The seasoned grassroots politician had two reasons to celebrate. In these Lok Sabha polls, he won and so did his son Suvendu. Sisir, who has been the Contai Municipality’s chairman for 26 years, was also an MLA from South Contai for a decade before taking the Lok Sabha plunge. His biggest contribution has been his role in effecting the turnaround results in the Panchayat polls in East Midnapore, traditionally a CPI(M) stronghold.

Dinesh Trivedi, 59

In Mamata’s core team, Trivedi has been in the Rajya Sabha twice and has also served as the general secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). Said to be influential in Delhi, he has close connections with top national leaders.

A commercial pilot with an MBA degree from Texas University, he brings to the party his varied experience—he’s also the chairman of the Indo-European Union Parliamentary Forum. He won from Barrackpore, a CPI(M) stronghold, by 55,861 votes.

Tapas Pal, 51

With a career spanning 26 years and 300 films, Tollywood actor Tapas Pal brings star appeal to the Trinamool Congress. Pal has been a part of Mamata’s team since 2000, ever since he became an MLA on a Trinamool ticket from Alipore. Riding on the popularity wave, he won again in 2006. He has been as successful in politics as he had been in films. His debut film in 1980, Dadar Kirti, was a hit and he went on to win the Filmfare Award for his role in Saheb. In his political career too, Pal has continued to draw crowds. He won from Krishnanagar by 77,386 votes.

... contd.