Sovandeb Chattopadhyay has been appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2026 elections. Chattopadhyay won the Ballygunge constituency by 61,476 votes, marking his historic achievement of winning 10 consecutive Assembly elections. Born in 1944, he is a close confidant of TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and was instrumental in the party's formation in 1998. Before entering politics, he worked at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and has been actively involved in workers' organizations, serving as the president of the Kolkata Auto Rickshaw Operators' Union. Throughout his political career, he has held various positions, including Government Chief Whip and Minister for Power, Agriculture, and Parliamentary Affairs. Despite facing internal conflicts within the party, he has remained a prominent figure, notably resigning from the Bhabanipur seat in 2021 to allow Banerjee to contest a by-election. His career has also been marked by controversy, particularly regarding allegations of a fake job scam involving TMC-linked leaders.