Mrinal Banerjee was Power Minister in the Left Front Ministry in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

.

He had joined politics as an employee of Durgapur Steel Plant

Durgapur Steel Plant

Durgapur Steel Plant is one of the integrated steel plants of Steel Authority of India Limited, located in Durgapur, in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. It has played a historically important part in the industrial development of India. Although not a separate company, it is the largest...

. In spite of his qualifying as an associate member of the Institute of Engineers, he preferred to remain a worker and serve the trade union. He was general secretary of the Steel Workers Federation of India and secretary of the West Bengal State Committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions

Centre of Indian Trade Unions

Centre of Indian Trade Unions , CITU is a National level Trade Union in India politically attached to the Communist Party of India . The Centre of Indian Trade Unions is today one of biggest assembly of workers and classes of India...

. In 1996, Jyoti Basu

Jyoti Basu

Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...

 inducted him into the state cabinet as Minister for Industrial Reconstruction and State Public Undertakings.

He was elected on a CPI(M)

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...

 ticket from the Durgapur I assembly constituency

Durgapur Paschim (Vidhan Sabha constituency)

Durgapur Paschim is an assembly constituency in Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It broadly covers the area earlier covered by Durgapur I assembly constituency.-Extent:...

in 1996, 2001 and 2006.