Rahul Sinha

Rahul Sinha
Rahul Sinha at a public meeting in Kolkata
National Secretary Bharatiya Janata Party [1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 2015
President of West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party
In office 2009–2015
Preceded by	Satyabrata Mookherjee
Succeeded by	Dilip Ghosh [2]
Personal details
Born	(1963-10-20) 20 October 1963 (age 56) Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party

Rahul Sinha (born 20 October 2963) is an politician ^[3] and current National Secretary ^[1] of Bharatiya Janata Party. ^[4] He served as President of Bharatiya Janata Party, West Bengal Unit from 2009-2015 before Dilip Ghosh. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}

Early and personal life

Rahul Sinha was born in Kolkata, West Bengal on 20 October 1963. ^{[11] [12]}

Political Career

In 2012, Sinha was re-elected for three years as president of the West Bengal unit of the BJP after campaigning in the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party's two month long organisational elections. ^{[8] [13]}

As president, ^{[14] [15]} Sinha led the party during the panchayat polls in 2013 and the 2014 General elections of India. ^[13]

Before the panchayat elections, Sinha noted, "I want to assure the party workers that the BJP will contest the rural polls as well as the next Parliament elections on its own strength" and indicated that there will be no possibility in future of uniting with the Trinamool Congress. Later he also said that the party can emerge as an alternative to Trinamool. ^[13]

In the 2014 general elections, Sinha stood for election in the North Kolkata Lok Sabha constituency. After political campaigning he visited every polling both in Kolkata Municipal Corporation consisting of 60 civic wards followed by a visit to the Election Commission's office in Kolkata to provide information about his constituency's polling stations. ^[16] Sinha lost the election, and AITC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay was elected a second time as representative of the North Kolkata Lok Sabha constituency. ^{[8] [17] [18]} In 2019 Lok Sabha election he again contested from the same constituency but lost again to Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinomool Congress. ^[19]

Controversy

According to All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader and Trinamool Yuva Congress (TMYC) state president Abhishek Banerjee, Rahul Sinha's brother Sudip Sinha is a member of the Trinamool Congress. Banerjee, nephew of the current Chief Minister of West Bengal, stated at Shahid Minar Rally of Trinamool Youth Congress that Rahul Sinha's brother Sudip Sinha is one of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) youth activists who became member of Trinamool and joined the rally. ^[20] Banerjee further said, "Soon, his [Rahul Sinha] whole family will be with us [Trinamool]". ^[21]

Later, Rahul Sinha said that his brother had been a member of Trinamool Congress for years. He said that Banerjee was trying to mislead people by introducing false information and implying that Bharatiya Janata party leaders were divided. Sinha also claimed that Trinamool leaders are "trying petty tricks to show I Rahul Sinha have a divided house". ^[21] In October 2019, he stirred up a controversy when he mocked the credentials of Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee. He said, "Those people whose second wives are foreigners are mostly getting the 'Nobel prize. I don't know whether it is a degree for getting the Nobel". ^{[22] [23]}

References

1. Administrator. "National Office Bearers". www.bjp.org.
2. "Rahul Sinha is appointed as National secretary and Dilip Ghosh as new President West Bengal Unit BJP". Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
3. "Rahul Sinha Biography - About family, political life, awards won, history". www.elections.in.
4. "Rahul Sinha replaced and Dilip Ghosh was appointed as New BJP president of West Bengal -Paschimbanga Unit" . Retrieved 11 December 2015.
5. "Rahul Sinha BJP president". The Telegraph . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
6. "CBI does not look into money trail of Saradha: Rahul Sinha". The Economic Times . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
7. "BJP demands white paper on paintings". The Hindu . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
8. Sinha, Rahul. "Ghanta Khanek Songha Suman" (TV program) (in Bengali). Interviewed by Sumon. Kolkata: ABP Ananda.
9. "CM will be arrested if she is involved in Saradha scam quipped state BJP chief Rahul Sinha". Kolkata Today. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
10. "Our State Presidents". BJP West Bengal.
11. "Rahul Sinha political leader". Election Commission of India . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
12. "Shri Rahul Sinha". Bharatiya Janata Party . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
13. "Rahul Sinha re-elected president of BJP's Bengal unit". The Hindu . 8 October 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
14. "west-bengal-to-benefit-from-nia-probe-says-bjp-state-president-rahul-sinha". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
15. "West-Bengal-BJP-to-move-no-confidence-motion-against-TMC-government". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
16. "Rahul-sinha-abhishek-banerjee-lalu-prasad-sushil-kumar-modi-adhir-ranjan-chowdhury". India Today . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
17. "General Election to the Lok Sabha Trends & Results 2014". Election Commission of India . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
18. "General Elections, 2009 (15th Lok Sabha) Constituency Wise Detailed Results - PDF" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
19. "Kolkata Uttar elections 2019 results".
20. "Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinhas brother joins TMC youth wing". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
21. "West-bengal-bjp-chief-rahul-sinha-s-brother-joins-trinamool". NDTV . Retrieved 31 December 2014.
22. https://www.news18.com/news/india/is-a-foreign-wife-criterion-for-nobel-prize-after-goyal-bjps-rahul-sinha-mocks-abhijit-banerjee-2351443.html
23. http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/rahul-sinha-flayed-over-nobel-comment-380321