PANJA, SHRI AJIT KUMAR
CONGRESS (I)- CALCUTTA NORTH EAST (WEST BENGAL)

Father's Name:   Late Dr. Dhanapati Panja

Date of Birth:   13 September 1936

Place of Birth:   Calcutta (West Bengal)

Marital Status:   Widower (Married on 11 August 1960)

Spouse's Name:   Late Prof. Jaya Panja

Children:   One son and one daughter

Educational Qualifications :
B.A., Bar-at-Law
Educated at Scottish Church College, Calcutta University, Calcutta 
(West Bengal), Lincoln's Inn, London (U.K.)

Profession :
Lawyer, Political and Social Worker

Permanent Address :
250, Chittaranjan Avenue, Calcutta-700006
(West Bengal)
Tels. (033) 2412525, 2310199

Positions Held :
   
1971,1972-77 Member, West Bengal Legislative Assembly
and 1982-85
1971-72Cabinet Minister, Judiciary and Parliamentary Affairs 
(IndiaPress),  West Bengal
1972-77Cabinet Minister, Health & Family Planning and Water 
Supply, Calcutta Corporation, Municipal Affairs and Forests 
Development, West Bengal
Chairman, Jhargram Development Board
1973 onwardsMember, A.I.C.C.
1977President, D.C.C. (I), North Calcutta, West Bengal
1980-81President, P.C.C. (I), West Bengal
1984Elected to Lok Sabha (Eighth)
Sept.1985-Union Minister of State, Planning with additional charge of 
Oct. 1986Food & Civil Supplies
Oct.1986-Union Minister of State, Information & Broadcasting 
Feb.1988(Independent Charge)
Feb.1988-Union Minister of State, Finance
Dec.1989
1989Re-elected to Lok Sabha (Ninth)
1990Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Finance
Jan.1990-Member, Committee of Privileges
Aug.1990
May 1990-91Member, Public Accounts Committee
Member, Informal Consultative Committee, Railway Zone
1991Elected to Lok Sabha (Tenth) for the third time
June 1991-Union Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting 
Janm.1993(Independent Charge)
Jan.1993-nion Minister of State, Coal (Independent Charge)
Sep.1995
1996Elected to Lok Sabha (Eleventh) for the fourth time

Books Published:
(i) "Encephalitis Attack in West Bengal"; (ii) "CPM Gun Shoot to 
Kill" (English and Bengali); (iii) "Ganatantra Hatya" (Bengali); 
(iv) "Siksha Khethre Nairajya"  (Bengali); (v) "Sansad Bichitra" 
(Bengali);  (vi)  "PM  (Sh.  V.P.  Singh)  Challenged  to  Prove  
Charges"   (English);   (vii)   "Dunkel   Agreement"  (Bengali);  
(viii)"Unemployment Problems in India: How to solve it(Bengali); 
(ix)  "Era of Excellence  of Narasimha Rao Government 4th Year-
Major  Achievements and Decisions"  (English,  Hindi,  Urdu and  
Bengali); and (x)"Mining Medicines:Hand Book for Health Workers 
and Mine Workers"

Social and Cultural Activities :
Engaged  in  social  work  for  the  poor,  needy and physically 
handicapped; connected with several social organisations for the 
welfare  of  minority  communities, scheduled  castes, scheduled 
tribes and the downtrodden

Special Interests :
Reading story books for children and writing

Favourite Pastime and Recreation :
Reading, music, gardening and Singing

Sports and Clubs :
Member (i) Mohan Bagan Club; (ii) Calcutta Club; (iii) East Bengal 
Club; and (iv) Aiykya Saminilani Football Club

Countries Visited :
Widely travelled; Member, PM's Delegation to Australia Indonesia,  
New Zealand and Thailand, October 1986;  Leader, (i)  Delegation  
to  Bhutan,  November,  1986;  (ii)  Delegation to International  
Film  Festival  at  Mauritius  and  Moscow, 1987  and July 1991; 
(iii)  Delegation  to  Information  Ministers of SAARC Countries 
Conference at  Harare,  June,  1987;  (iv)  Delegation to  Burma 
and Thailand in July 1988; (v) Delegation  to the  Film  Segment 
of  the  Festival  of India,  Berlin, 1991;  (vi)  Parliamentary  
Delegation  to  U.K.,  France   and   Germany  to  evaluate  the 
Parliamentary Broadcasting System in Parliament House, June 1992; 
(vii) Delegation to Germany in September, 1993; and  (viii) High 
Power  Delegation  for  establishing  bilateral relations in the 
field of Coal Industries, China, 1994

Election Result :
   
Calcutta North East Lok Sabha constituency
Total electorate9,07,284
Total votes polled6,60,413
Votes polled in favour of the
first four leading candidates :
(1) Shri Ajit Kumar Panja (I.N.C.)3,35,855
(2) Shri Dipen Ghosh [C.P.I. (M)]2,70,870
(3) Shri Subhas Maitra (B.J.P.)  33,246
(4) Shri Tapan Kumar Sarkar (Ind.)      2,094