Silchar : Veteran Congress leader, former Rajya Sabha MP, and noted educationist Kamalendu Bhattacharjee passed away on Saturday at a private hospital in Kolkata. He was 83.

Bhattacharjee, who had long been associated with public service, politics, and education in the Barak Valley, began his career as an English professor at Gurucharan College, Silchar. A man of many pursuits, he went on to serve as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1984 and later contested the 1991 Assam Assembly elections from the Silchar constituency on a Congress ticket. He won that election by a narrow margin of 71 votes, defeating BJP candidate Bimalangshu Roy.

He held the post of General Secretary in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and remained a respected voice within the party until 2006, when he parted ways with the Congress and joined Badruddin Ajmal’s political outfit. He contested the Udharbond Assembly seat that year but was defeated.

Beyond politics, Bhattacharjee was deeply involved in the region’s academic and cultural development. He was one of the key founders of Silchar College of Education and played an instrumental role in the University Demand Implementation Committee. He also served as President of the Mahitosh Purkayastha Birth Centenary Celebration Committee and was actively associated with several other institutions and civic bodies.

Bhattacharjee also served two terms as President of the District Sports Association (DSA), Silchar, and was actively involved in Assam’s historic 1972 Language Movement, advocating for the rights of Bengali speakers in the Barak Valley.

He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and two sons-in-law, along with numerous admirers, students, and political followers. His son, renowned physician Dr. Kunal Bhattacharjee, had predeceased him.

According to family sources, his mortal remains will be brought to his residence in Tikarbasti, College Road, Silchar, on Monday, where well-wishers will be able to pay their last respects.

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