Former state minister Upendra Kisku passed away on Wednesday night at a nursing home in Bankura. He was 83 years old. The body of this Left leader was taken to the CPI(M)'s Bankura district office on Thursday.
In the 1970s, there was a movement in the Jangalmahal region of Bankura district demanding fair prices for kendu leaf collection and sale to protect the livelihood of tribals, active involvement with the bidi industry, and protection of workers' rights regarding economic security. Upendra Kisku was one of the prominent faces of that program known as the 'Kendu Leaf Movement'. His political rise happened through this movement.
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Later, Upendra Kisku, a primary school teacher by profession, became one of the prominent faces of the Left in Bankura district.
He was first elected as MLA from the Raipur Assembly constituency in 1977. He was elected as MLA from that assembly constituency eight consecutive times. Even during the change of power in the state in 2011, he won from his assembly constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a huge margin of votes. Upendra served as minister of the state's Backwards Classes Welfare Department from 1982 to 2006. He left his job as he was a full-time party worker.
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He was one of the key initiators behind the formation of the 'Adivasi Adhikar Mancha'. Mainly through his initiative, numerous government schools and tribal cooperatives were established in villages across the districts of Jangalmahal. Though he was not directly involved in parliamentary politics after 2016, he maintained close contact with the party until his last days. He regularly visited the CPI(M)'s party office in Raipur.
According to family sources, a few days ago, he fell at home and started having a brain haemorrhage. Family members admitted this veteran leader to a nursing home in Bankura. He died there on Wednesday night.
