Babul Supriyo, MoS in Environment ministry: Singer was re-elected from Asansol

Babul Supriya Boral, or Babul Supriyo as he is better known, is a playback singer who was re-elected from the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal in the parliamentary elections and is now serving as the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the 17th Lok Sabha’s Union Council of Ministers.

Earlier, in Narendra Modi’s first term Supriyo held the portfolio of a Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

After entering politics in 2014, Supriyo won his first election from Asansol — becoming one of the only two BJP candidates to win a seat in West Bengal.

Supriyo holds a BCom (Honours) degree from the University of Calcutta.

After completing his graduation with commerce as major in 1991, Babul Supriyo worked briefly as a banker in Standard Chartered Bank. But in 1992, he gave up his job and shifted to Mumbai to pursue his musical career and performed at various stage shows and was the playback for several Bollywood flicks. Supriyo’s breakthrough came with blockbuster Bollywood “Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai” in 2000, in which his song “Dil Ne Dil ko Pukara” was a huge hit.

It was during a flight as a co-passenger of Yog Guru Ramdev, that he found his calling in politics, The Economic Times reported.

He was earlier made the union minister of state for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in the first Modi cabinet but later during a ministry reshuffle, he was made given the Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises charge.

He was also a member of the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.

In 2019, he was renominated from Asansol Lok Sabha seat and was pitted against actor-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen of TMC. Forty-eight-year-old Supriyo won the seat by defeating Sen by a margin of 1,97,637 votes.