Mamata Banerjee (born January 5, 1955)

She is the current and eighth Chief Minister of West Bengal, a position she has held since May 20, 2011. She is the first woman to lead the state. Banerjee founded the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 1998 after leaving the Indian National Congress and became its chairperson in 2001. Known as “Didi” (Bengali for elder sister), she has held multiple Union Cabinet positions, including Minister of Railways, Coal, Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, Women and Child Development.

She gained prominence by opposing land acquisition policies in West Bengal that were detrimental to farmers. In 2011, she led the TMC to a decisive victory against the 34-year Communist-led Left Front government.

Banerjee was a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Bhabanipur from 2011 to 2021. Although she lost the Nandigram seat to BJP‘s Suvendu Adhikari in the 2021 elections, her party won a majority. She challenged the Nandigram result in court, and the case is ongoing. She later won a by-election to re-enter the Assembly from Bhabanipur. Currently, she is the only female Chief Minister in India.

Politics:

In Congress:

Mamata Banerjee began her political career with the Congress party in the 1970s. She first gained attention in 1975 by protesting on the car of socialist activist Jayaprakash Narayan. Rising through local Congress ranks, she served as the general secretary of Mahila Congress (Indira) in West Bengal from 1976 to 1980.

In the 1984 general election, Banerjee, then one of India’s youngest parliamentarians, won the Jadavpur constituency by defeating veteran Communist Somnath Chatterjee. She also became the general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress. After losing her seat in the 1989 elections, she was re-elected in 1991 from the Calcutta South constituency, retaining it in subsequent elections through 2009.

As Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in 1991, Banerjee protested the government’s lack of support for sports reforms. She was discharged from her portfolios in 1993.

In December 1992, Banerjee confronted Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, seeking justice for a girl allegedly raped by a CPI(M) cadre. She was arrested during this protest. In 1993, she led a Youth Congress protest against the CPI(M) government’s alleged electoral rigging, which resulted in police firing that killed thirteen people. The response was criticized by Justice (retired) Sushanta Chatterjee in a 2014 inquiry, who compared it to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Trinamool Congress:

In 1997, Mamata Banerjee left the Congress Party in West Bengal due to differences with the state Congress president, Somendra Nath Mitra. She co-founded the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) with Mukul Roy, and it swiftly became the main opposition to the state’s long-standing Communist government. On December 11, 1998, Banerjee drew attention by dragging Samajwadi Party MP Daroga Prasad Saroj out of the Lok Sabha’s well, preventing him from protesting against the Women’s Reservation Bill.

Railway Minister (1999–2000)

In 1999, Mamata Banerjee joined the BJP-led NDA government as Railways Minister. During her tenure, she introduced the New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express and several other new trains for West Bengal, including the Howrah-Purulia Rupasi Bangla Express and the Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri Padatik Express. She also increased the frequency of the Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express and expedited the Digha-Howrah Express service.

Banerjee focused on tourism by adding two locomotives to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and proposing the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited. She also supported India’s involvement in the Trans-Asian Railway and reintroduced rail links with Bangladesh and Nepal. In total, she introduced 19 new trains for the 2000–2001 fiscal year.

In 2000, Banerjee and Ajit Kumar Panja resigned to protest a petroleum price hike but later withdrew their resignations.

2004–2006 Election

In the 2004 general elections, Mamata Banerjee‘s party, which had allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party, lost, and she was the only Trinamool Congress (TMC) member elected from West Bengal. The party faced further setbacks in 2005 when it lost control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and saw Mayor Subrata Mukherjee defect to another party. In 2006, the TMC was defeated in West Bengal’s Assembly elections, losing over half of its sitting members.

On August 4, 2006, Banerjee dramatically threw her resignation papers at Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal in the Lok Sabha. This act was a response to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s rejection of her adjournment motion concerning illegal infiltration by Bangladeshis in West Bengal, citing improper format.

2009–2011: Political Resurgence and Railway Minister (Second Tenure)

Before the 2009 parliamentary elections, Mamata Banerjee aligned with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Indian National Congress. The alliance secured 26 seats, and Banerjee joined the central cabinet as Railway Minister for her second term. In the 2010 municipal elections in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the Bidhan Nagar Corporation.

In 2011, Banerjee led TMC to a sweeping victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, ending the Left Front’s 34-year rule and becoming Chief Minister.

During her second tenure as Railway Minister (2009–2011), Banerjee focused on West Bengal. She introduced several non-stop Duronto Express trains, women-only trains, and inaugurated the Anantnag-Qadigund segment of the Jammu–Baramulla line. She also made the 25 km Kolkata Metro Line-1 an independent zone of Indian Railways.

Banerjee stepped down from her ministerial role to become Chief Minister, leaving the railways with assurances of continued support for her successor, Dinesh Trivedi. However, her tenure was criticized for increasing the network’s debt due to populist measures, with little progress on major announcements and financial losses reported during her term.

CM of West Bengal (First Term):

In the 2011 West Bengal legislative assembly elections, the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), along with SUCI and INC, secured a decisive victory against the Left Front, winning 227 seats. TMC won 184 seats, INC 42, and SUCI 1, ending the world’s longest-serving democratically elected Communist government.

Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as Chief Minister on May 20, 2011, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Her early actions included returning 400 acres of land to Singur farmers and establishing the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

She initiated several reforms, including paying teachers monthly on the first day of each month and promising a three-phase development plan for health infrastructure. Under her leadership, Nadia became India’s first Open Defecation Free district.

Banerjee also rolled back petrol price hikes and delayed FDI in retail. To improve law enforcement, she established new police commissioners for various regions and brought the entire Kolkata Municipal Corporation area under Kolkata Police control.

Banerjee promoted the state’s history and culture by naming Kolkata Metro stations after freedom fighters and planned to honor various public figures. However, she faced criticism for controversial stipends to imams, which the Calcutta High Court ruled unconstitutional.

In February 2012, Bill Gates praised her administration for eliminating polio in the state. Banerjee also launched a Facebook page to support A.P.J Abdul Kalam for the presidential elections, later backing Pranab Mukherjee when Kalam declined. She opposed bandhs, despite supporting them in the past.

Her tenure was marred by the Saradha Scam, a financial scandal leading to the imprisonment of former minister Madan Mitra, party MP Kunal Ghosh, and significant scrutiny of other party officials.

CM of West Bengal (Second Term):

In the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections, the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) achieved a landslide victory, securing 211 out of 293 seats. This victory gave Mamata Banerjee a second term as Chief Minister. TMC won with an enhanced majority while contesting alone, becoming the first ruling party in West Bengal to do so without allies since 1962.

In 2017, Banerjee’s Kanyashree scheme was recognized by the United Nations as the best among 552 social sector schemes from 62 countries.

CM of West Bengal (Third Term):

In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) won a landslide victory with a two-thirds majority, securing 213 out of 292 seats. However, Mamata Banerjee, who contested from Nandigram, lost to Suvendu Adhikari of the Bharatiya Janata Party by 1,956 votes. She challenged the result, and the matter remains sub judice. Despite this, Banerjee was re-elected as Chief Minister for a third term and took the oath of office on May 5, 2021.

Following her re-election, Banerjee launched several new initiatives. The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme provided financial aid to women under 60, offering 500 to general women and 1,000 to minority women. The scheme proved to be highly popular. She also introduced the Students Credit Card scheme, providing loans up to 10 lakh to students pursuing higher education.

On November 30, 2021, Banerjee surpassed her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to become the third-longest-serving Chief Minister of West Bengal. If she remains in office until October 26, 2025, she will become the second-longest-serving Chief Minister, surpassing Bidhan Chandra Roy and following Jyoti Basu.