sentences:  That was a dramatic reversal of roles, as the home ministry had, since independence in 1947, banned the CPI thrice, with many of its members, including Gupta, being sent to prison or pushed underground for long stretches.He was the longest-serving member having been elected eleven times to the Lok Sabha the lower house of Indian Parliament.He suffered his only electoral reverse when he lost to Ashok Krishna Dutt in 1977 after the CPI supported Emergency.Gupta belonged to a Brahmo family of Calcutta.