Trinamool Congress's Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam passed away on Wednesday (September 25) at the age of 61. Islam was suffering from liver cancer and passed away at his home at 1.45 pm.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee consoled Islam's demise and remembered him as a dedicated social worker. "Sad to know of the demise of my valued colleague, our MP of Basirhat, Haji Sk. Nurul Islam. He was a dedicated social worker in a remote Sundarban area, and he worked hard for the upliftment of poor people in a backward region. People of Basirhat will miss his leadership. I convey my condolences to his family, friends and colleagues," she said in a post on X.
Islam was elected as an MP for the first time in 2009 from Basirhat on a Trinamool Congress ticket. In 2014, he contested the Lok Sabha polls from Jangipur and lost. After that, in 2016, he won the Haroa assembly seat under Basirhat Lok Sabha and won. In 2021 he again won the legislative assembly polls from Haroa.
Islam again secured the Bashirhat Lok Sabha seat, one of the most important seats that went up for grabs in West Bengal, with a huge margin in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Basirhat Parliamentary constituency covers the Sandeshkhali assembly segment, which saw massive violence over protests and allegations of land-grabbing and sexual assault against TMC leaders and workers.
Islam was accused of instigating the 2010 Deganga riots in Bengal.