Born in 1940 at Kandi, Sinha, whose father Bimal Chandra Sinha was a minister in the Bidhan Chandra Roy-led government, joined the Congress in the late 60s and first became a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1971 before being given a ministerial berth in the Congress government led by Siddhartha Shankar Ray.

Until 2001 elections, he was elected MLA from Kandi constituency in Murshidabad. In 2006, he suffered defeat for the first time following rivalry with Congress MP Adhir Choudhury. Sinha became the leader of the Opposition in 1996 and leader of the Congress Legislature Party in 2001.

Following his rivalry with Adhir Choudhury, Sinha distanced himself from the Congress and formed his own party in 2004 before joining the Trinamool Congress a few months later.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee sent his condolence today and asked Partho Chatterjee and Subrata Bakshi to visit Sinha’s Kandi residence.

In the afternoon, Sinha’s body was taken to the state Assembly where Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim and Left Front government chief whip Md Massih paid their tributes. Later, the body was kept at Peace Haven. Sinha’s son Anindya will arrive tomorrow from abroad to attend the funeral.

Chatterjee, who is also the leader of the Opposition, said Sinha’s death was a loss for the party and the people who believe in democracy.