Indranil Sen sang his way to power under Trinamool, now faces music under BJP | Political Pulse News
Through the 1990s, Indranil Sen rose to become a leading singer in the Bengali music industry. Once seen as close to the Left Front, Sen crooned his way to power, rising rapidly under the Trinamool Congress to become a minister. After the change of guard in Bengal, Sen is facing the music.
In dramatic scenes on Wednesday evening, officers of Kolkata Police arrested 61-year-old Sen, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, Information, and Cultural Affairs in the previous Mamata Banerjee government, shortly after officers of the Enforcement Directorate questioned him in a money laundering case. Sen was arrested in connection with a June 8 complaint alleging a multi-crore extortion scheme centered around Durga Puja ‘preview shows’.
The rise of Indranil Sen
Indranil Sen’s public life has spanned his musical career, a political leap, and an administrative role before the tables turned on him. According to his election affidavit, Sen completed schooling at the New Alipore Multipurpose School in 1983 and earned a Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering from the Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology in Chennai in 1986.
Music brought him recognition. His songs spanned genres, from Modern Bengali songs (also called Adhunik) to Rabindra Sangeet to folk music, and his following cut across age groups. Known for his love of the famed Hilsa and designer eyewear, Sen declared assets worth Rs 10.8 crore ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
Once considered close to the Communist government in Bengal, especially Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Sen aligned with the Trinamool Congress after Mamata Banerjee brought down the Left Front in the 2011 state polls.
Sen made his electoral debut in 2016, winning the Chandannagar assembly seat in Hooghly district. He joined the state cabinet soon after as a deputy minister in the Information and Cultural Affairs department. Sen retained the Chandannagar seat in the 2021 election, after which he was handed independent charge of the Tourism ministry alongside his role in the Information and Cultural Affairs department.
It all came crashing down in the 2026 election, when he lost the Chandannagar seat to BJP’s Deepanjan Kumar Guha by a margin of 13,441 votes. Soon after coming to power, the BJP government ordered a probe into the MassArt Society case, and trouble began for Sen.
Indranil Sen was arrested on Wednesday night
What is the case
At the centre of the case against Sen is Mahanirban Road Mass Art Society, also known as MassArt Society, formed shortly after Durga Puja received UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage recognition in 2021. Sen’s wife, Madhuchhanda, serves as the president of MassArt Society, which is accused of running an unauthorised commercial ticketing model for popular Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata.
According to the complaint, MassArt allegedly used UNESCO’s name and logo without authorisation and claimed 26 Puja pandals “selected” from among hundreds across Kolkata are holding “preview shows”. Passes to these shows were sold at rates ranging from Rs 1,800 to Rs 12,000. According to the complaint, the general public was barred from entering these pandals for four days, turning the festival into a profit-driven enterprise.
The investigators estimate crores were siphoned off through corporate branding, sponsorship money, and direct ticket sales. The state government’s ministries actively backed this, they allege.
Chief Minister targets Mamata Banerjee
Launching a direct attack on the Trinamool Congress leadership, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said Sen was just a node in a larger network.
“We knew Mamata Banerjee and Indranil Sen complemented each other. Therefore, saying Indranil Sen alone siphoned off funds would be completely incorrect,” he said. “This is just tea and biscuits; breakfast is yet to come. All institutional thieves must go to jail, and at the right time, action will reach the highest level,” he said.
Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress MP and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, hit back, saying Trinamool leaders who did not sell their conscience are being sent to jail. “On the other hand, thieves and fraudsters are pardoned for even the biggest crimes the moment they hold up the BJP flag,” said Banerjee, taking a swipe at former party colleagues who have switched sides.
