Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Chandan Mitra dies at 66

Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Chandan Mitra died late on Wednesday. He was 66.

His son Kushan Mitra confirmed the news on Twitter. “Dad passed away late last night,” he wrote. “He had been suffering for a while.”

Chandra Mitra was the editor of The Pioneer. In June, he resigned as the printer and publisher of the newspaper.

Mitra began his journalism career with The Statesman in Kolkata, then moved to The Times of India in Delhi and later worked as an editor at The Sunday Observer.

He also worked with the Hindustan Times as an executive editor. Following this, he joined The Pioneer.

Mitra studied at the La Martinière For Boys in Kolkata and was a batchmate of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Swapan Dasgupta.

Mitra had quit the BJP in 2018 and joined the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. As a former BJP leader, he served as a two-term Rajya Sabha MP between August 2003 and 2009, and then again between June 2010 and 2016.

I am posting a photograph of Chandan Mitra and me together during a school trip in 1972. Be happy my dear friend wherever you are. Om Shanti pic.twitter.com/58vMvU6Wa9

— Swapan Dasgupta (@swapan55) September 2, 2021

As the news of Mitra’s death broke, tributes poured in.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Mitra will be “remembered for his intellect and insights”. “He distinguished himself…

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