West Bengal Congress chief Somen Mitra passes away, tributes pour in

West Bengal Congress President Somen Mitra passed away at a Kolkata hospital.

He had been admitted to the hospital around 17 days back due to heart and kidney related ailments.

Hospital sources told new agencies that Mitra died following a cardiac arrest around 1:30 am on Thursday.

Mitra's political career began during the 1960s as a student leader and spanned over five decades.

Mitra became an MLA from Sealdah Assembly in 1972 constituency and represented it seven times.

Known to be a master strategist, Mitra rose quickly in the ranks of the Congress to become one of the most popular party leader in the state.

Mitra, who went on to become three-time president of the Congress' West Bengal unit from 1992-1996, 1996-1998 and then again from September 2018, was instrumental in clocking the best tally of 82 seats against the Left Front in the 1996 assembly polls.Tributes poured in for the Congress leader from leaders across the political spectrum.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi were among the top leaders who paid their respects to Mitra.

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