The popularity of the 67-year-old can be gauged from the fact that he retained the Berhampore seat by an impressive margin of 80,000 votes in the 2019 General Elections despite the party fighting to stay relevant in Bengal in the face of a saffron surge.

Born on April 2, 1956, in Berhampore, Chowdhury shot into the political limelight after he won the seat in 1999 against all odds as it had not been won by the Congress since 1951 and was a Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) stronghold. RSP has been winning the Berhampore seat since 1952.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, Congress candidates won in all seven Assembly segments under the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat.

Chowdhury, a staunch critic of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been the chief of the West Bengal Congress and was also the Minister of State for Railways during the UPA government from 2012 to 2014. Chowdhury has also been a member of the West Bengal Assembly from 1996 to 1999.

Notably, Chowdhury lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election against TMC candidate and former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan.