Gyan Singh Sohanpal (11 January 1925 – 8 August 2017), was an Indian politician affiliated with the Indian National Congress and a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.[1] He is affectionately known as Chacha Ji ("Uncle" in English) in his constituency of Kharagpur Sadar.

Gyan Singh Sohanpal
Pro tem Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
In office
May 18, 2011 – May 30, 2011
GovernorM. K. Narayanan
Preceded byHashim Abdul Halim
Succeeded byBiman Banerjee
ConstituencyKharagpur Sadar
Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
In office
1969–1977
Preceded byNarayan Choubey
ConstituencyKharagpur Sadar
In office
1982–2016
Preceded bySudhir Das Sharma
Succeeded byDilip Ghosh
ConstituencyKharagpur Sadar
Minister of Small Industries and Jails
Government of West Bengal
In office
February 25, 1969 – July 30, 1970
GovernorShanti Swaroop Dhavan
Chief MinisterAjoy Mukherjee
Minister for Transport, Jail and Parliamentary Affairs
Government of West Bengal
In office
March 19, 1972 – June 21, 1977
GovernorAnthony Lancelot Dias
Chief MinisterSiddhartha Shankar Ray
Personal details
Born
Gyan Singh Sohanpal

(1925-01-11)11 January 1925
Died8 August 2017(2017-08-08) (aged 92)
NationalityIndian
Political partyIndian National Congress
Alma materMidnapore Collegiate School

He won his seat Kharagpur Sadar in 1969, 1971, 1972, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011.[2]

Since 1969, he only lost elections in 1977 and 2016 when he was 91 years old.

He was MLA for 10 terms.[3]

He contested his first election in 1962 and became a minister in 1969 in Ajoy Mukherjee’s cabinet, taking charge of Small Industries and Jails. In Siddhartha Shankar Ray’s cabinet, he was the Minister for Transport, Jail and Parliamentary Affairs. He has represented Khragpur since 1982, and in the 2011 election, he defeated Anil Kumar Das of the CPI(M) by over 32,000 votes. Following that election, he was the most senior Member of the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal and served briefly as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[4] He was sworn in as the Speaker by Governor M. K. Narayanan on May 18, 2011.

References

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  1. ^ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Nation". www.tribuneindia.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  2. ^ "From one wave of change to another, Chacha has seen it all - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com.
  3. ^ "Will it be a perfect 10 for Kharagpur's own Chacha". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Buddhadev resigns, to continue till swearing-in on May 18". www.outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.