Abhijit Mukherjee

Abhijit Mukherjee
Member of Parliament
Jangipur
In office
2012-2014, 2014-incumbent
Preceded by Pranab Mukherjee
Member of Legislative Assembly
Nalhati
In office
13 May 2011 – 2012
Preceded by Dipak Chatterjee
Succeeded by Dipak Chatterjee
Personal details
Born 2 January 1960
Howrah, West Bengal
Nationality Indian
Political party Indian National Congress
Spouse(s) Chitralekha Mukherjee
Children Two
Parents Pranab Mukherjee
Suvra Mukherjee
Residence Kabi Bharati Sarani
Kolkata
Alma mater University of Jadavpur
Occupation Chartered Engineer & Social Worker
Website www.abhijitmukherjee.in

Abhijit Mukherjee (born 2 January 1960) is an Indian politician who serves as Member of Parliament (MP) from the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency in the Indian state of West Bengal. He is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC).

Mukherjee won the 2012 Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency election by 2,536 votes defeating his nearest CPI(M) rival Muzaffar Hussain. The seat was vacated by his father President Pranab Mukherjee after he was elevated to the highest office of the country.[1]

Mukherjee was reelected to Lok Sabha from Jangipur in 2014.[2]


Early years

Abhijit Mukherjee was born in a Bengali family on 2 January 1960 in Hoogly in West Bengal. He is the son of the current President of India, Pranab Mukherjee and Suvra Mukherjee.[3] His grandfather, Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee, was active in the Indian independence movement and was a member of West Bengal Legislative Council between 1952 and 1964 as a representative of the Indian National Congress.[4][5] Mukherjee Graduated B.E as a Mechanical Engineer from the Jadavpur University in 1984.[3]

Professional career

Mukherjee has worked as a corporate executive for firms like the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Maruti Udyog Limited and the Steel Authority of India Limited.[6] He was General Manager in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility [CSR] in the Steel Authority of India Limited.[3]

Political career

Mukherjee began his political career with the Indian National Congress. In the 2011 elections, Mukherjee defeated Dipak Chatterjee of AIFB to win the legislative seat of Nalhati.[7]

"Painted–dented" controversy

In December 2012, Mukherjee faced widespread criticism when, in the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, he called the protestors as women who were "highly dented and painted".[8] In an interview[9] to ABP News, he also said that these women go to discotheques[10] and are disconnected with reality.[11] The remarks caused a huge controversy, almost as large as the original rape issue.[12][13][14] His sister Sharmishtha expressed surprise at the remarks, and said that their family were not like this.[8] Abhijit later apologized for his sexist comments[15]

References

External links