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Babul Supriyo has already an established himself as a playback singer in the Hindi and the Bengali film industry before his stint in politics began.
It was in March 2014 when this ardent Modi admirer found himself nominated as the party’s candidate from the Asansol Lok Sabha seat. The odds were stacked against this singer-turned-politician who had to take on the Trinamool Congress’ Dola Sen.
One of the lasting images of Supriyo’s 2014 campaign continues to be Modi’s strong pitch for this “young turk” in Asansol. Surprising critics and psephologists, Supriyo turned to be the giant-killer as he won the Asansol seat.
Later in 2014, he got inducted into Modi’s Cabinet as Union Minister of State of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
A Cabinet reshuffle around July 2016 saw a portfolio change. He became the Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
Incidentally, Supriyo has been one of the most consistent faces of the BJP on television debates and programmes. He is known for takingon the TMC and other political opponents of the BJP head on.
Cut to 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Supriyo faced his first backlash when a song of his was banned by the Election Commission of India. This was followed up with complaints against him to the ECI.
Psephologists yet again stacked the odds against him. This time, Supriyo had to take on a reinvigorated Trinamool Congress and actor-politican Moon Moon Sen from his Asansol seat. Supriyo defeated Moon Moon Sen by nearly 2,00,000 votes.
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