Kolkata, Nov. 11 -- Former West Bengal minister and senior Trinamool leader Ujjal Biswas passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday at the age of 72.
He was a three-time MLA from Krishnanagar Dakshin. He won from the seat in 2011, 2016, and 2021. Biswas served as a state Cabinet minister and held portfolios in Science, Technology and Biotechnology, and Correctional Administration.
In the 2026 Assembly elections, he lost his seat to BJP candidate Sadhan Ghosh.
Biswas suffered a brain stroke following a bypass surgery in October 2026.
His condition further deteriorated due to pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTI), septic shock, and kidney failure requiring dialysis and full ventilatory support. He died following multi-organ failure.
Family and party members of Biswas claimed that his health had also been severely impacted by psychological distress following legal and political troubles earlier in the year.
He was confronted, heckled, and targeted in a protest involving local people and BJP supporters in Krishnanagar in June 2026.
Local BJP leaders had accused Biswas of illegally hoarding government flood-relief materials such as tarpaulins and clothes at his residence.
Family members maintained that the items were part of his official minister's quota meant for distribution. A crowd barged into his office/residence, raised slogans like "thief, thief," hurled abuses, and threw eggs at him.
The Kotwali police later intervened, removed him from the location, and arrested him in connection with a case regarding the alleged misappropriation of tarpaulins.
Freedom fighter Basanta Kumar Biswas was his uncle. Biswas's son died in 2012 after allegedly setting himself on fire.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.