{{short description|Indian politician (born 1979)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Mausam Noor | image = Mausam Noor.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|10|15|df=y}}<ref name="mausam">{{cite web |url=http://india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=4483 |title=Detailed Profile: Smt. Mausam Noor |access-date=4 October 2010 |work=Government of India}}</ref> | birth_place = Kolkata, West Bengal, India<ref name="mausam"/> | death_place = | office = Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | term_start = 3 April 2020 | term_end = 5 January 2026 | predecessor = | successor = Menaka Guruswamy | constituency = West Bengal | office1 = Vice Chairperson of West Bengal Commission for Women | 1blankname1 = Chairperson | 1namedata1 = Leena Gangopadhyay | term_start1 = 2019 | term_end1 = | predecessor1 = Mahua Panja | successor1 = | constituency2 = Maldaha Uttar | office2 = Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | term_start2 = 20 May 2009 | term_end2 = 23 May 2019 | predecessor2 = New constituency | successor2 = Khagen Murmu | office4 = Member of Legislative Assembly, West Bengal | constituency4 = Sujapur | predecessor4 = Rubi Noor | successor4 = Abu Nasar Khan Choudhury | term_start4 = 17 January 2009 | term_end4 = 16 May 2009 | party = Indian National Congress (2009–2019, 2026–present) | other_party = Trinamool Congress (2019–2026) | mother = Rubi Noor | relations = | spouse = {{marriage|Mirza Kayesh Begg|5 December 2009}} | profession = Advocate | alma_mater = Calcutta University (LL.B.) | children = 2 | website = | signature = Mausam Noor signature.png }} '''Mausam Benazir Noor''' (born 15 October 1979) is an Indian politician, who is a former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from West Bengal and Vice Chairperson of West Bengal Commission for Women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://myneta.info/rajsab09aff/candidate.php?candidate_id=824|title=Mausam Noor(All India Trinamool Congress(AITC)):(WEST BENGAL) - Affidavit Information of Candidate|website=myneta.info|access-date=24 March 2020}}</ref> She was President of Malda district TMC<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banerjee-nominates-women-candidates-rajya-sabha-polls-bengal-6305403/|title=Mamata Banerjee nominates two women candidates out of 4 for Rajya Sabha polls|date=8 March 2020|website=The Indian Express|language=en-US|access-date=8 March 2020}}</ref> and a Member of Lok Sabha for Maldaha Uttar from 2009 until 2019.
Noor comes from a political Bengali Muslim family of Malda, West Bengal. Her uncle A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury was Minister of Railways in the Third Indira Gandhi Ministry. She studied at La Martiniere Calcutta and received a law degree from Calcutta University. Mausam entered politics after her mother Rubi Noor (the then incumbent Member of Legislative Assembly of West Bengal for Sujapur constituency) died in 2008. In early 2009, she was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the same constituency and in May she was elected to the ''Lok Sabha''. Noor was elected president of the West Bengal Youth Congress in 2011. Two years later, she was elected president of the Indian National Congress Malda district unit. In January 2019, she switched to Trinamool Congress party after her proposal of an electoral alliance with the party for the 2019 general election was turned down by the Pradesh Congress Committee.
In a significant political move ahead of the 2026 West Bengal assembly polls, Mausam Benazir Noor resigned from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and officially rejoined the Indian National Congress (INC) on January 3, 2026. The former Rajya Sabha MP and former two-time Lok Sabha member described the return as an emotional "homecoming" aimed at uniting her family to strengthen the legacy of her uncle, the late Congress stalwart A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury. She formally submitted her resignation from the Rajya Sabha shortly after rejoining the party in New Delhi. Her return, alongside her cousin and Malda South MP Isha Khan Choudhury, is seen as a strategic effort to consolidate the Congress's influence in the Malda district and the broader North Bengal region.
== Early and personal life == Noor belongs to a political Bengali Muslim family from the Malda district. Her mother, Rubi Noor, was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for three consecutive terms from the Sujapur constituency. Rubi was married to her classmate and Mausam's father Syed Noor. She accompanied her husband to Canada before entering politics in 1991. Mausam has two elder sisters — Syeda Saleha Noor and Sonya Sarah Noor.<ref name="The Telegraph">{{cite web |title=Cong at Mamata door to spare Ruby seat |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/cong-at-mamata-door-to-spare-ruby-seat/cid/539752 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=28 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Congress mourns loss of leader who filled a void |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/congress-mourns-loss-of-leader-who-filled-a-void/cid/567748 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=11 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The business interests of Mausam Benazir Noor and Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury |url=https://www.livemint.com/ |publisher=Live Mint |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=14 May 2014}}</ref>
One of Noor's uncles, A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury, served as Minister of Railways in the Third Indira Gandhi ministry. Her other uncle, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, is serving as a Member of Parliament for the Maldaha Dakshin constituency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Big jolt to Congress in Bengal as Rahul's loyalist joins Trinamool |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/01/28/big-jolt-to-congress-in-bengal-as-rahul-loyalist-joins-trinamool.html |work=The Week |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=28 January 2019}}</ref> Abu Hasem's son, Isha Khan Choudhury, is a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and represents the Sujapur constituency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cousin Isha Khan to take on Mausam Noor: 'She humiliated uncle Ghani Khan Choudhury' |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/cousin-isha-khan-to-take-on-mausum-noor-she-humiliated-uncle-ghani-khan-choudhury-1502728636.html |work=The Statesman |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=30 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Whichever the party, all politics in Malda is still about only one family |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/elections-2016/india/india-news-india/whichever-the-party-all-politics-in-malda-is-still-about-only-one-family/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=14 April 2016}}</ref>
Noor studied at La Martiniere Calcutta and received a law degree from the Calcutta University.<ref>{{cite web |title=Congress MP Mausam Noor joins Trinamool Congress ahead of Lok Sabha polls |url=https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/newsroom+post-epaper-newspost/congress+mp+mausam+noor+joins+trinamool+congress+ahead+of+lok+sabha+polls+video-newsid-107387137 |publisher=Daily Hunt |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=28 January 2019}}</ref> She worked at the legal firm Fox and Mandal and practised as a full-time lawyer in the Supreme Court of India for two years before entering politics.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bandyopadhyay |first1=Mouparna | title = Barkatdas niece plays family card in Malda |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/barkatdas-niece-plays-family-card-in-malda/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=7 February 2019 |date=22 April 2019}}</ref> She married her long-time boyfriend Mirza Kayesh Begg of Asansol on 5 December 2009. She met him in 2004 while studying law at Calcutta University.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mausam Noor Cong MP from Malda weds classmate |url=http://www.ummid.com/news/December/06.12.2009/mausam_noor_weds.htm |publisher=Ummid |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=6 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mausam to marry law classmate - Kotwali gets ready for young MP's Wedding |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/mausam-to-marry-law-classmate-kotwali-gets-ready-for-young-mp-s-wedding/cid/580355 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=18 November 2009}}</ref>
==Political career== ===Indian National Congress=== [[File:A.H. Khan Choudhury going around the DAVP Photo Exhibition, at the Bharat Nirman Public Information Campaign, in Amrity, Malda, West Bengal on October 26, 2013. The MP, North Malda, Smt. Mausam Benazir Noor is also seen.jpg|Noor (far right) with her uncle Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury in 2013.|thumbnail]] On 10 July 2008, the Sujapur constituency fell vacant due to the death of Noor's mother, sitting Member of Legislative Assembly Rubi Noor. Subsequently, the Indian National Congress party announced that Mausam would contest for the upcoming by-election from the constituency.<ref name="The Telegraph"/> She won the election and defeated her nearest rival, Haji Ketabuddin of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of 21,205 votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ballot gap bothers Left |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/ballot-gap-bothers-left/cid/513797 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=9 January 2009}}</ref>
On 20 May 2009, Noor was elected to the Lok Sabha, representing the Maldaha Uttar constituency. She became one of the five youngest members and the youngest Muslim woman to be elected to the 15th Lok Sabha.<ref>{{cite web |title=Representation of Muslim women in Lok Sabha since Independence |date=21 May 2009 |url=http://twocircles.net/2009may21/representation_muslim_women_lok_sabha_independence.html |publisher=Two Circles |access-date=1 February 2019 |format=21 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The youngest MP is 26 |url=https://www.rediff.com/election/2009/may/20slide-show-1-the-youngest-mp-is-26.htm |work=Rediff.com |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=20 May 2009}}</ref> On 31 August, she became a member of the Standing Committee on Labour. On 23 September, she became a member of the Standing Committee on Empowerement of Women and a member of Consultative Committee of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.<ref name="Lok Sabha">{{cite web |title=Mausam Noor |url=http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=4483 |publisher=Lok Sabha |access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref>
In March 2011, Noor was elected president of the West Bengal Youth Congress. She was supported by the Indian Youth Congress general-secretary Rahul Gandhi and defeated Arindam Bhattacharya.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rahul's candidate Noor is Bengal Youth Congress president |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/rahul-s-candidate-noor-is-bengal-youth-congress-president/story-EXAwPK9EQ0JtLtgP5jMCSN.html |work=Hindustan Times |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=8 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Noor considers her responsibility as West Bengal Youth Congress President a huge challenge |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20110926-india-today-youth-special-mausam-noor-daughter-of-the-east-747694-2011-09-17 |work=India Today |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=26 September 2011}}</ref> In December 2013, she succeeded her uncle Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury as the party president for the Malda district.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Cong chiefs in bastions |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/new-cong-chiefs-in-bastions/cid/237786 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=1 February 2019 |date=17 December 2013}}</ref>
During Noor's first term as an MP, {{convert|1500|km|mi}} of road was built in her constituency under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Also, under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (Rajiv Gandhi Village Electrification Scheme), {{INR}}1.33 billion was sanctioned for her constituency. Moreover, {{INR}}850 million was sanctioned for the National Highway 81 (running from Gazole to Harishchandrapur), {{INR}}290 million for Ratua-Nakatti Bridge, {{INR}}330 million under Backward Regions Grant Fund to review erosion caused by the Mahananda River and {{INR}}320 million for a Samsi railway overbridge. However, she alleged that these projects could not be implemented as the state government refused to co-operate.<ref name="Merciless sun is kinder than the frying questions">{{cite web |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Chandrima |title=Merciless sun is kinder than the frying questions |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/merciless-sun-is-kinder-than-the-frying-questions/cid/192497 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=24 April 2014}}</ref>
In March 2014, the Congress party announced that Noor would participate from her own constituency for the upcoming general election.<ref name="Merciless sun is kinder than the frying questions"/> She was re-elected after defeating Khagen Murmu of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of 65,705 votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mausam Benazir Noor continues Ghani Khan's legacy in Malda |url=http://muslimmirror.com/eng/mausam-benazir-noor-continues-ghani-khans-legacy-in-malda/ |work=Muslim Mirror |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=17 May 2014}}</ref> She was polled 388,000 votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Congress retains Malda, ups winning margin |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/congress-retains-malda-ups-winning-margin/cid/189209 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=16 February 2019 |date=17 May 2014}}</ref> From 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2015, she served as a member of Committee on Papers Laid on the Table and Standing Committee on Rural Development.<ref>{{cite web |title=Other Parliamentary Standing Committees |url=http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Committee/CommitteeInformation.aspx?comm_code=21&tab=2 |publisher=Lok Sabha |access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Departmentally Related Standing Committees |url=http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Committee/CommitteeInformation.aspx?comm_code=32&tab=1 |publisher=Lok Sabha |access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref> On 1 September 2014, she also became a member of Consultative Committee, Ministry of Minority Affairs.<ref name="Lok Sabha"/>
Although Malda has been a bastion of the Congress party, they lost a large number of Zilla Parishad elections and Panchayat samiti elections to the ruling Trinamool Congress with Bharatiya Janata Party making inroads in the region. To make amends, Noor started organizing rallies and visiting villages.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=bn:ভোট নেই, তবুও ছুটছেন মৌসম | trans-title = There is no election, but still Mausam is running |url=https://www.anandabazar.com/district/north-bengal/mausam-noor-starts-door-to-door-campaign-to-maintain-public-relation-1.615451 |access-date=2 February 2019 |work=Anandabazar Patrika |date=20 May 2017 |language=bn}}</ref>
Mausam Noor, the Rajya Sabha MP and niece of the legendary Ghani Khan Chowdhury, recently made a significant return to the Indian National Congress on January 3, 2026. This high-profile homecoming occurred just months before her Upper House term was set to expire and ahead of the critical West Bengal Assembly elections. By resigning from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), she expressed a desire to reclaim her family's historic political legacy in Malda, stating that "Bengal needs a change, and let it begin with me." Her return is widely viewed as a strategic reinforcement for Congress, aiming to restore its former dominance in the region.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=bn:কংগ্রেসে যোগদানের পরেই তৃণমূলের রাজ্যসভার সাংসদপদ থেকে ইস্তফা দিলেন মৌসম বেনজির নূর |url= https://www.anandabazar.com/west-bengal/mausam-benazir-noor-resigns-as-tmc-rajya-sabha-mp-after-joining-congress-dgtl/cid/1659139 |access-date=22 January 2026 |work=Anandabazar Patrika |date=5 January 2026 |language=bn}}</ref>
===Trinamool Congress=== thumb|Noor in 2019 Noor left the Congress party and joined the Trinamool Congress on 28 January 2019 after her proposal to form an electoral alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress was turned down by the Pradesh Congress Committee.<ref>{{cite web |title=Breach in Congress' West Bengal bastion, Malda MP Mausam Benazir Noor joins TMC |url=https://indianexpress.com/elections/congress-mp-mausam-benazir-noor-joins-trinamool-congress-5558320/ |work=The Indian Express |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=29 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Inspired by Didi, Congress MP Mausam Noor joins TMC ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/inspired-by-didi-congress-mp-mausam-noor-joins-tmc-ahead-of-2019-lok-sabha-polls-1441271-2019-01-28 |work=India Today |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=28 January 2019}}</ref>
Subsequently, Noor was elevated to the post of the General-Secretary of the party. The party also announced that she would contest from her own constituency (Maldaha Uttar) in the upcoming 2019 general election.<ref>{{cite web |title=In Setback To Congress, Bengal Lawmaker Joins Trinamool |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-setback-to-bengal-congress-malda-lawmaker-mausam-noor-joins-trinamool-congress-ahead-of-polls-1984562 |publisher=NDTV |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=28 January 2019}}</ref> She also became the party in-charge for the Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda districts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mausam Benazir Noor compares Mamata Banerjee with ABA Ghani Khan, asks kin to join TMC |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/jan/30/mausam-benazir-noor-compares-mamata-banerjee-with-aba-ghani-khan-asks-kin-to-join-tmc-1931696.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204070127/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/jan/30/mausam-benazir-noor-compares-mamata-banerjee-with-aba-ghani-khan-asks-kin-to-join-tmc-1931696.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2019 |work=The New Indian Express |access-date=16 February 2019 |date=30 January 2019}}</ref> On 30 January, she organized a rally at Malda in which had fourteen ''panchayat'' members and one councillor of English Bazaar switch to Trinamool.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=bn:মৌসমের সভায় কংগ্রেসে ভাঙন |url=https://www.anandabazar.com/district/north-bengal/mausam-noor-indicates-more-congress-leader-may-join-tmc-soon-1.942756 |work=Anandabazar Patrika |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=30 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Maitra |first1=Subhro |title=Mausam Noor blames exit on 'stubborn' Bengal Congress |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/mausam-noor-blames-exit-on-stubborn-bengal-cong/articleshow/67764910.cms |work=The Times of India |access-date=2 February 2019 |date=31 January 2019}}</ref>
In the election, Noor lost to Khagen Murmu of Bharatiya Janata Party, her nearest rival by a margin of 84,288 votes. She was polled 425,236 votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maldaha Uttar Election Result 2019: BJP's Khagen Murmu defeats TMC MP Mausam Noor by 84,288 votes |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/elections/article/maldaha-uttar-wb-election-2019-maldaha-uttar-election-results-political-parties-tmc-cpi-m-congress-bjp-mausam-noor-biswanath-ghosh-isha-khan-chowdhury/407692 |publisher=Times Now |access-date=29 May 2019 |date=24 May 2019}}</ref> Subsequently, the party made her the party president of the Malda district unit on 26 May.<ref>{{cite web |title=Defeated candidates get new roles in TMC |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/defeated-candidates-get-new-roles-in-tmc/cid/1691259 |publisher=The Telegraph |access-date=29 May 2019 |date=26 May 2019}}</ref>
In the Rajya Sabha election 2020, Noor was nominated for Rajya Sabha election from West Bengal by the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/all-five-rajya-sabha-candidates-in-west-bengal-elected-unopposed/1772574|title=All five Rajya Sabha candidates in West Bengal elected unopposed|website=www.outlookindia.com|access-date=20 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/final-decision-on-mausam-noor-dinesh-bajajs-nominations-today-405496|title=Final decision on Mausam Noor, Dinesh Bajaj's nominations today|last=MP|first=Team|date=16 March 2020|website=www.millenniumpost.in|language=en|access-date=20 March 2020}}</ref>
In January 2026, Mausam Benazir Noor resigned from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and rejoined the Indian National Congress, marking a significant shift in West Bengal's political landscape ahead of the state assembly elections. A sitting Rajya Sabha MP for the TMC, she submitted her formal resignation from the Upper House on January 5, 2026, just months before her term was scheduled to expire in April.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2026/Jan/04/ahead-of-bengal-polls-tmc-rajya-sabha-mp-mausam-noor-quits-party-returns-to-congress|title= Mausam returns to Congress|access-date=5 January 2026 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Twitter|MausamNoor}} {{external media | float=right | video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGObZTwsFtk Mausam Noor] | video2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igolLfCO4Co Mausam Noor at Ranaghat] }}
{{16th LS members from West Bengal}} {{15th LS members from West Bengal}} {{West Bengal Legislative Assembly5}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noor, Mausam}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:People from Malda district Category:India MPs 2009–2014 Category:Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Category:Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Category:21st-century Indian Muslims Category:Women in West Bengal politics Category:University of Calcutta alumni Category:Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Category:People from English Bazar Category:India MPs 2014–2019 Category:21st-century Indian women politicians Category:20th-century Bengali people Category:21st-century Bengali people Category:Women members of the Rajya Sabha Category:West Bengal MLAs 2006–2011 Category:Women members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly