Former Bengal Minister and Congres leader Abu Hena passes away

Former West Bengal minister and veteran Congress leader Abu Hena passed away at his residence in Salt Lake on Monday, following a prolonged illness. Party sources confirmed that Hena, aged 75, breathed his last around 10:45 PM on Sunday, marking the end of a long and impactful political career primarily centered in Murshidabad district and the state assembly.

At the time of his demise, Abu Hena served as the president of the Murshidabad District Congress Committee, a testament to his enduring influence and leadership within the party in the region. His dedication to the party and his constituents was evident throughout his extensive public service.

A lawyer by profession, Hena had a distinguished legislative career, representing the Lalgola assembly seat in the West Bengal assembly for an impressive period of three decades, from 1991 to 2021. His consistent re-election underscored the trust and support he commanded from the voters in his constituency.

In a significant political development of his career, Abu Hena became a minister in the first government formed by the Trinamool Congress in 2011, when the Congress party was in an alliance with the TMC. This period saw him contributing to the state's governance in a ministerial capacity, working alongside the new ruling party.

However, his tenure as a minister was cut short when he resigned from the cabinet after the Congress party decided to withdraw its support from the Trinamool Congress government. This move reflected the shifting political dynamics and alliances within West Bengal's political landscape during that period.

The 2021 assembly elections marked a pivotal moment in Abu Hena's political journey, as he faced his first electoral defeat. He was unseated from his long-held Lalgola assembly seat by the Trinamool Congress candidate, Muhammad Ali, signifying a shift in political fortunes in his traditional stronghold after decades of electoral success. It is also notable that Abu Hena came from a political lineage; his father, Abdus Sattar, was a member of Siddhartha Shankar Ray’s cabinet, establishing a family tradition of public service.