Mamata Bannerjee
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Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current
chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
of the
Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served multiple times as a Union Cabinet Minister, Mamata Banerjee became the
Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...
for the first time in 2011. She founded the
All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...
(AITC or TMC) in 1998 after separating from the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
, and became its second chairperson later in 2001. She often refers to herself as ''Didi'' (meaning, ''elder sister'' in
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
). Banerjee previously served twice as
Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...
, the first woman to do so. She is also the second female Minister of Coal, and
Minister of Human Resource Development The Minister of EducationMinistry of Education – Official Website
Government of India. ...
, Youth Affairs and Sports, Women and Child Development in the
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
of the
Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...
. She rose to prominence after opposing the erstwhile land acquisition policies for
industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...
of the
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
-led government in West Bengal for
Special Economic Zones A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
at the cost of agriculturalists and farmers at
Singur Singur is a census town in Singur CD block in Chandannagore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Singur is located at . It has an average elevation of 14 metres (45 ft), and i ...
. In
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, Banerjee pulled off a landslide victory for the AITC alliance in West Bengal, defeating the 34-year-old
Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
-led Left Front government, the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist-led government. She served as the member of
West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...
from Bhabanipur from 2011 to 2021. She contested the
Nandigram Nandigram is a census town in the Nandigram I Community development block, Community Development Block of the Haldia subdivision in the Purba Medinipur district of the India, Indian state of West Bengal. In 2007, the West Bengal government all ...
assembly seat and lost to the BJP's
Suvendu Adhikari Suvendu Adhikari (born 15 December 1970) is an Indian politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the West Bengal unit of Bharatiya Janata Party since May 2021. Adhikari previously worked in the state ministry for the W ...
in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, though her party won a large majority of seats. She is the third West Bengal Chief Minister to lose an election from her own constituency, after
Prafulla Chandra Sen Prafulla Chandra Sen (10 April 1897 – 25 September 1990) was an Indian politician and freedom fighter. He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1962 to 1967. Background Prafulla Chandra Sen was born in the village Senhati in the Khulna ...
in 1967 and
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (1 March 1944 – 8 August 2024) was an Indian Communism, communist politician and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who served as the 7th List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Chief M ...
in 2011. Mamata challenged the result of Nandigram Constituency in
Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...
and the matter is sub judice. She led her party to a landslide victory in the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls. She got elected as member of
West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...
again from Bhabanipur constituency in the bypoll. India has only two female CM, Banerjee being one of the Indian
female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...
Chief Minister.


Early life and education

Banerjee was born in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
(now Kolkata),
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
, to a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family. Her parents were Promileswar Banerjee and Gayetri Devi. Banerjee's father, Promileswar, died due to lack of medical treatment, when she was 17. In 1970, Banerjee completed the higher secondary board examination from Deshbandhu Sishu Sikshalay. She received a bachelor's degree in history from
Jogamaya Devi College Jogamaya Devi College is one of the oldest and leading women's colleges in Kolkata, India. It shares the same building with Asutosh College (day college) and Syamaprasad College (evening college) and is named after the wife of Sir Asutosh Muk ...
. Later, she earned her master's degree in
Islamic history The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abra ...
from the
University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
. This was followed by a degree in education from Shri Shikshayatan College and a law degree from Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. In 1984, Mamata Banerjee prefixed her name with ‘Dr’, claiming that she had completed her doctorate. After it came to light that the University (University of East Georgia) from which Banerjee had putatively completed her PhD did not exist, she stopped prefixing her name with the ‘Dr’ title. Banerjee became involved with politics when she was only 15. While studying at the Jogamaya Devi College, she established Chhatra Parishad Unions, the student wing of the Congress (I) Party, defeating the All India Democratic Students Organisation affiliated with the
Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C) is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibdas Ghosh, Nihar Mukherjee and others in 1948. Ideology SUCI(C) is a communist party in ...
. She continued in the Congress (I) Party in West Bengal, serving in a variety of positions within the party and in other local political organisations.


Early political career, 1984–2011


Political career with Congress

Banerjee began her political career in the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
party as a young woman in the 1970s. In 1975 she gained attention in the
press media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, news channels etc. History Some of the first news circulations occurred ...
when she danced on the car of socialist activist and politician
Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...
as a protest against him. She quickly rose in the ranks of the local Congress group and remained the general secretary of Mahila Congress (Indira), West Bengal, from 1976 to 1980. In the 1984 general election, Banerjee became one of India's youngest parliamentarians ever, defeating veteran Communist politician
Somnath Chatterjee Somnath Chatterjee (25 July 1929 – 13 August 2018) was an Indian politician who was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he had been a non affiliated independent during his last decade. He was t ...
, to win the Jadavpur parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal. She also became the general secretary of the
Indian Youth Congress The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. The Indian Youth Congress was a department of the Indian National Congress from the period just after the Partition of India in 1947 until the late 1960s. Whil ...
in 1984. She lost her seat to Malini Bhattacharya of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
in the 1989 general elections in an anti-Congress wave. She was re-elected in the 1991 general elections, having settled into the Calcutta South constituency. She retained the Kolkata South seat in the
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
,
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
,
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
,
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and 2009 general elections. Banerjee was appointed the
Union Minister of State The Union Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of their functions.Article 74 of the ''Constitution of India'' It is chaired by th ...
for
Human Resources Development Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...
, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development in 1991 by
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
,
P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...
. As the sports minister, she announced that she would resign and protested in a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, against the Government's indifference towards her proposal to improve sports in the country. She was discharged of her portfolios in 1993. In April 1996, she alleged that Congress was behaving as a stooge of the CPI-M in West Bengal. She said that she was the lone voice of reason and wanted a "clean Congress". In December 1992, Banerjee took a physically challenged girl Dipali Basak, who was allegedly raped by CPI(M) cadre Souvagya Basak, to
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings or Mahakaran, often shortened to just Writers, was the official secretariat building of the Government of West Bengal, state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-metre long building covers the entire northe ...
to the then Chief Minister
Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu (born Jyotirindra Basu; 8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010) was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest ...
but was harassed by the police before being arrested and put on detention. She had sworn she would enter the building again only as chief minister. The State Youth Congress led by Mamata Banerjee organised a protest march to Writers' Building in Kolkata on 21 July 1993 against the Communist government of the state. They demanded that voters' ID cards be made the only required document for voting, to put a stop to CPM's "scientific rigging". Thirteen people were shot and killed by police during the protest and many others were injured. Reacting to this incident the then-Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, said that the "police had done a good job." During the 2014 inquiry, Justice (retired) Sushanta Chatterjee, former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, described the police response as "unprovoked and unconstitutional". "The commission has come to the conclusion that the case is even worse than
Jallianwala Bagh massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (), also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, during the annual Vaisakhi, Baisakhi fair to protest aga ...
," said Justice Chatterjee.


Founding Trinamool Congress

In 1997, due to difference in political views with the then
West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC), formerly known as the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee in Colonial India, is the unit of the Indian National Congress for the state of West Bengal. It is responsible for the organization a ...
president Somendra Nath Mitra, Banerjee left the Congress Party in West Bengal and became one of the founding members of the
All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction f ...
, along with
Mukul Roy Mukul Roy (born 17 April 1954) is an Indian politician from West Bengal. He has also served as a Minister of State in the Shipping Ministry and later Ministry of Railways during the second UPA government. Before the creation of Trinamool Cong ...
. It quickly became the primary opposition party to the long-standing Communist government in the state. On 11 December 1998, she controversially held a
Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
MP,
Daroga Prasad Saroj Daroga Prasad Saroj (born 1 January 1956) Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) is an Indian politician for the Lalganj (Lok Sabha Constituency) in Uttar Pradesh. Daroga Prasad Saroj from Azamgarh is a 3 time current M.P. from Lalganj Lok Sabha Cons ...
, by the collar and dragged him out of the well of the Lok Sabha to prevent him from protesting against the
Women's Reservation Bill The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, popularly known as the Women's Reservation Bill, 2023 (ISO 15919: ''Nārī Śakti Vandan Adhiniyam''), was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 September 2023 during the special session of Par ...
.


Railway Minister (first tenure), 1999–2000

In 1999, she joined the BJP-led
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
(NDA) government and became Railways Minister. In 2000, Banerjee presented her first
Railway Budget Railway budget of India was the Annual Financial Statement for Indian Railways administered by the Railway Board, which handles rail transport in India. It was presented every year by the Minister of Railways, representing the Ministry of Rail ...
. In it, she fulfilled many of her promises to her home state West Bengal. She introduced a new biweekly New Delhi-
Sealdah Sealdah is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Etymology Jackals (''sheal'' in Bengali) howled around Sealdah. Antiquarians identify it as Shrigaldwipa (Jackal Island). Nearby Beliaghata ...
Rajdhani Express The Rajdhani Express () is a series of passenger train services in India operated by Indian Railways connecting the national capital New Delhi with the capitals or the largest cities of various states. ''Rajdhani'', derived from the Sanskrit m ...
train and four express trains connecting various parts of West Bengal, namely the
Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
-
Purulia Purulia, officially Purulia Sadar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is locate ...
Rupasi Bangla Express, the Sealdah-
New Jalpaiguri New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station (station code NJP) established in 1960, is an A1 category broad-gauge and narrow-gauge railway station under Katihar railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is the largest and the busiest ...
Padatik Express The 12377 / 12378 Padatik Express is a daily Superfast train which runs between Sealdah and in West Bengal. The train covers a distance of . The train belongs to the Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state- ...
, the Shalimar- Adra Aranyak Express, the Sealdah-Ajmer Ananya Superfast Express, and Sealdah-Amritsar Akal Takht Superfast Express. She also increased the frequency of the
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
-Howrah Azad Hind Express and extended at least three express train services. Work on the Digha-Howrah Express service was also hastened during her brief tenure. She also focused on developing tourism, enabling the
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or the Toy Train, is a narrow-gauge, gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about long. It c ...
section to obtain two additional locomotives and proposing the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited. She also commented that India should play a pivotal role in the Trans-Asian Railway and that rail links between
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
would be reintroduced. In all, she introduced 19 new trains for the 2000–2001 fiscal year. In 2000, she and
Ajit Kumar Panja Ajit Kumar Panja (13 September 1936 – 14 November 2008) was a Union minister of state in the Government of India. He was a member of Indian National Congress party but left it to join Trinamool Congress. He was born in Calcutta, and studied ...
resigned to protest the hike in petroleum prices, and then withdrew their resignations without providing any reasons.


2001 West Bengal election

In early 2001, after ''
Tehelka ''Tehelka'' () is an Indian news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. According to the British newspaper ''The Independent'', the ''Tehelka'' was founded by Tarun Tejpal, Aniruddha Bahal and another colleague ...
'' exposure of Operation West End, Banerjee walked out of the NDA cabinet and allied with the Congress Party for West Bengal's 2001 elections, to protest the corruption charges levelled by the website against senior ministers of the government.


Minister of Coal and Mines, January 2004 – May 2004

She returned to the NDA government in September 2003 as a cabinet minister without any portfolio. Along with Mamata, her party colleague Sudip Banerjee was also inducted in the Vajpayee ministry. On 9 January 2004 she took charge as Ministry of Coal and Mines. During her short term as the minister of coal and mines, the government disallowed the sale of the
National Aluminium Company National Aluminium Company Limited (abbreviated as NALCO; incorporated in 1981) is an Indian public sector company having integrated and diversified operations in mining, metal and power. Presently, the Government of India holds a 51.28% equity ...
. She held the
Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
and
Mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...
portfolios till 22 May 2004.


2004–2006 election setbacks

In Indian general election of 2004 her party aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, the alliance lost the election and she was the only Trinamool Congress member to be elected from a parliamentary seat from West Bengal. Banerjee suffered further setbacks in 2005 when her party lost control of the
Kolkata Municipal Corporation Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the List of Indian state and union territory capitals, state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, ' ...
and the sitting mayor
Subrata Mukherjee Subrata Mukherjee (14 June 1946 – 4 November 2021) was an Indian politician who was cabinet minister of the government of West Bengal and sitting member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. He was a member of All India Trinamool Congress. H ...
defected from her party. In 2006, the Trinamool Congress was defeated in West Bengal's Assembly Elections, losing more than half of its sitting members. On 4 August 2006, Banerjee hurled her resignation papers at the
deputy speaker Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain ...
Charanjit Singh Atwal Charanjit Singh Atwal (born 15 March 1937) is an Indian politician who was Deputy Speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha of India from 2004 to 2009. He represented the Phillaur constituency of Punjab in the 14th Lok Sabha and is a member of the Bharat ...
in
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
. She was provoked by
Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...
Somnath Chatterjee's rejection of her adjournment motion on illegal infiltration by
Bangladeshis Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the permanent residents ...
in West Bengal on the grounds that it was not in the proper format.


Singur, Nandigram and other movements

On 20 October 2005, she protested against the forceful land acquisition and the atrocities perpetrated against local farmers in the name of the
industrial development Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for the ...
policy of the
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (1 March 1944 – 8 August 2024) was an Indian Communism, communist politician and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who served as the 7th List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Chief M ...
government in West Bengal. Benny Santoso,
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
-based Salim Group, had pledged a large investment in West Bengal, and the
West Bengal government The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the principal administrative authority of the Indian state of West Bengal, created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial a ...
had given him farmland in Howrah, sparking protests. In soaking rain, Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress members stood in front of the Taj Hotel where Santoso had arrived, shut out by the police. Later, she and her supporters followed Santoso's convoy. A planned "black flag" protest was avoided when the government had Santoso arrive three hours ahead of schedule.


Singur protest

In November 2006, Banerjee was forcibly stopped on her way to
Singur Singur is a census town in Singur CD block in Chandannagore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Singur is located at . It has an average elevation of 14 metres (45 ft), and i ...
for a rally against a proposed
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses. T ...
car project. Banerjee reached the West Bengal assembly and protested at the venue. She addressed a press conference at the assembly and announced a 12-hour shutdown by her party on Friday. After being arrested by police earlier in that day "for violating prohibitory orders" near Singur, she alleged that the administration had acted "unconstitutionally" by preventing her from entering Singur where the Tata motors proposed to set up a small car factory. She was intercepted at Hooghly and sent back. After this incident the Trinamool Congress MLAs protested by damaging furniture and microphones and vandalising the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Building. A major strike was called on 14 December 2006. But all in all there was no gain. On 4 December, Banerjee began the historic 26-day hunger strike in Kolkata protesting the forcible acquisition of farmland by the government. The then-President
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( ; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born and raised in a Muslim family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Kala ...
, who was concerned about her health, spoke to the then-Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...
to resolve the issue. Kalam also appealed to Banerjee to withdraw her fast as "life is precious". A letter from Manmohan Singh was faxed to Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the then-Governor of West Bengal, and then it was immediately delivered to Mamata. After receiving the letter Mamata finally broke her fast at midnight on 29 December. In 2016 the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
declared that the acquisition of 997 acres of land by West Bengal's Left Front government for the Tata Motors plant in Singur was illegal.


Nandigram protest

In 2007 a battalion of armed police stormed the rural area of
Nandigram Nandigram is a census town in the Nandigram I Community development block, Community Development Block of the Haldia subdivision in the Purba Medinipur district of the India, Indian state of West Bengal. In 2007, the West Bengal government all ...
in the district of
Purba Medinipur East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...
with the aim of quashing protests against the West Bengal government's plans to expropriate of land for a
Special Economic Zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
(SEZ) to be developed by the Indonesian-based
Salim Group The Salim Group is Indonesia's biggest conglomerate and refers to companies where the Salim family holds majority ownership. Its assets include Indofood Sukses Makmur, the world's largest instant noodle producer; Indomobil Group, one of Indon ...
. At least 14 villagers were shot dead and 70 more were wounded. This led to a large number of intellectuals to protest on the streets. CPI(M) cadres allegedly molested and raped 300 women and girls during the Nandigram invasions. Banerjee wrote letters to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister
Shivraj Patil Shivraj Patil (born 12 October 1935) is an Indian politician was the Minister of Home Affairs of India, from 2004 to 2008 and 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He was Governor of the state of Punjab and Administrator of the U ...
to stop what she called "state-sponsored violence" promoted by CPI(M) in Nandigram. Her political activism during the movement is widely believed to be one of the contributing causes to her landslide victory in
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
. The CBI report on the incident vindicated CPI(M)'s stand that Buddhadeb did not order the police to open fire. They did so only to disperse the unlawful assembly after every other standard operating procedure had failed. But supporting the violence in Nandigram by his own party workers, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had said earlier "They (the oppositions) have been paid back in the same coin." There are allegations of involvement of some local TMC leaders in the Nandigram Violence


2009–2011 electoral progress

Before the 2009 parliamentary elections she allied with the
United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...
(UPA) led by Indian National Congress. The alliance won 26 seats. Banerjee joined the central cabinet as the railway minister (second tenure). In the 2010 Municipal Elections in West Bengal, TMC won Kolkata Municipal Corporation by a margin of 62 seats. TMC also won Bidhan Nagar Corporation by a seven-seat margin. In 2011, Banerjee won a sweeping majority and assumed the position of chief minister of the state of West Bengal. Her party ended the 34-year rule of the Left Front. Trinamool Congress performed well in the 2009 parliamentary election, winning 19 seats. Its allies in Congress and SUCI also won six and one seats respectively marking the best performance by any opposition party in West Bengal since the beginning of the Left's regime. Until then, the Congress victory of 16 seats in 1984, was considered their best show in opposition.


Railway Minister (second tenure), 2009–2011

In 2009, Mamata Banerjee became the railway minister for the second time. Her focus was again on West Bengal. She led
Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...
to introduce a number of non-stop ''
Duronto Express Duronto Express, translating to "restless" in Bengali, is a class of long-distance rapid trains operated by Indian Railways. Initially conceived to operate non-stop between origin and destination stations, since January 2016, these trains hav ...
'' trains connecting large cities as well as a number of other passenger trains, including women-only trains. The Anantnag-Qadigund segment of the
Jammu–Baramulla line The Jammu–Baramulla line, including the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramula Rail Link (USBRL) subsection, is a 324 km long railway track between the cities of Jammu and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir India. It is fully operational as of Jun ...
that had been in the making since 1994 was inaugurated during her tenure. She also declared the long line-1 of the
Kolkata Metro The Kolkata Metro is a Urban rail transit in India, rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata metropolitan area, Kolkata Metropolitan Region in West Bengal, India. Opened in 1984, it was the first operational rapid trans ...
as an independent
zone Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to: Places Military zones * Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation * Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation * Korean Demilit ...
of the Indian Railways for which she was criticised. She stepped down as railway minister to become the
chief minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...
. She commented: "The way I am leaving the railways behind, it will run well. Don't worry, my successor will get all my support." Her nominee from her party,
Dinesh Trivedi Dinesh Trivedi (born 4 June 1950) is an Indian politician. He was a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from West Bengal and a former Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (2009–19) representing Barrackpore constituency of West Bengal. Prior to th ...
, succeeded her as railway minister. Banerjee's tenure as railway minister was subsequently questioned as most of the big-ticket announcements made by her when she held the post, saw little or no progress. Reuters reported that "Her two-year record as railway minister has been heavily criticized for running the network into more debt to pay for populist measures such as more passenger trains." The Indian Railways became loss-making during her two-year tenure.


Chief Minister of West Bengal


First term, 2011–16

In
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, the All India Trinamool Congress along with
SUCI The Suci (Greek: Σοῦκοι or Σύκοι ''S(o)ukoi'') were a Dacian tribe located in what is now Oltenia. Their main fortress was Sucidava, in what is now Corabia, on the north bank of the Danube. The Suci have been identified as ancestors o ...
and the INC won the West Bengal legislative assembly election against the incumbent Left Alliance by securing 227 seats. TMC won 184 seats with the INC winning 42 seats and the SUCI secured one seat. This marked the end of the longest-ruling democratically elected Communist party in the world. Banerjee was sworn in as chief minister of West Bengal on 20 May 2011. As the first female chief minister of West Bengal, one of her first decisions was to return 400 acres of land to Singur farmers. "The cabinet has decided to return 400 acres to unwilling farmers in Singur," the chief minister said. "I have instructed the department to prepare the papers for this. If Tata-babu (
Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
) wants, he can set up his factory on the remaining 600 acres, otherwise we will see how to go about it." She has also been credited for setting up of the
Gorkhaland Territorial Administration The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is a semi-autonomous council for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal state in India. The GTA was formed in 2012 to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which was formed in 19 ...
. She began various reforms in the education and health sectors. Some of the reforms in the education sector included the release of teachers' monthly pay on the first of every month and quicker pensions for retiring teachers. In the health sector Banerjee promised: "A three-phase developmental system will be taken up to improve the health infrastructure and service." On 30 April 2015, a representative of
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
India congratulated the government for making
Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In many Slavic languages, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope": Ukrainia ...
the first Open Defecation Free district in the country. In a statement on 17 October 2012, Banerjee attributed the increasing incidence of rape in the country to "more free interaction between men and women". She said that "Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded but now everything is so open. It's like an open market with open options." She was criticised in the national media for these statements. She was also instrumental in the rollback of the petrol price hikes and the suspension of FDI in the retail sector until a consensus is evolved. In a bid to improve the law and enforcement situation in West Bengal, police commissioners were created at
Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
,
Barrackpore Barrackpore (), also known as Barrackpore,is a city and municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Barrackpore subdivision. The city is a part of the area covered by Ko ...
, Durgapur-Asansol and
Bidhannagar Bidhannagar (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bidhānanagar''), also known as Salt Lake City, is a city and a municipal corporation of North 24 Parganas district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters ...
. The total area of Kolkata Municipal Corporation was brought under the control of the
Kolkata Police The Kolkata Police () (formerly "Calcutta Police"), is the Law enforcement in India, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within the Kolkata metropolitan region, metropolitan area of the city of Kolkata, ...
. Banerjee had shown a keen interest in making the public aware of the state's history and culture. She named several stations of the Kolkata Metro after freedom fighters, and plans on naming upcoming stations after religious leaders, poets, singers and the like. Mamata Banerjee has been criticised for starting controversial stipends to imams (Iman Bhatta) which was ruled unconstitutional by
Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...
. On 16 February 2012,
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
, of the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...
, sent a letter to the West Bengal government praising Banerjee and her administration for achieving a full year without any reported cases of polio. The letter said this was not only a milestone for India but also for the whole world. In June 2012, she launched a
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page to rally and gather public support for
A.P.J Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( ; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian Aerospace engineering, aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born and raised in a Muslim family in Ramesw ...
, her party's choice for the presidential elections. After he refused to stand for the second time, she supported
Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...
for the post, after a long tussle over the issue, commenting she was personally a "great fan" of Mukherjee and wishing that he "grows from strength to strength". She is against calling ''bandhs'' (work stoppage) although actively supported them when she was in opposition. Her tenure was also heavily marred by the Saradha Scam – financial embezzlement which led to the imprisonment of Madan Mitra – a former minister in her cabinet,
Kunal Ghosh Kunal Ghosh (born 20 June 1968) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Trinamool Congress and a former MP, representing West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha. Journalism Ghosh worked for Channel 10, as well as several newspapers. Ghosh ho ...
– a party MP, and rigorous grilling of several party men holding important posts.


Second term, 2016–2021

In the 2016 assembly elections, All India Trinamool Congress won with a landslide two-thirds majority under Mamata Banerjee winning 211 seats out of total 293, who has been elected as Chief Minister West Bengal for the second term. All India Trinamool Congress won with an enhanced majority contesting alone and became the first ruling party to win without an ally since 1962 in West Bengal. In 2017 Kanyashree, a scheme launched by her government, was ranked the best by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
among 552 social sector schemes from across 62 countries.


Third term, 2021–present

In the 2021 assembly elections, AITC won with a landslide two-thirds majority. But, Mamata Banerjee who fought from
Nandigram Nandigram is a census town in the Nandigram I Community development block, Community Development Block of the Haldia subdivision in the Purba Medinipur district of the India, Indian state of West Bengal. In 2007, the West Bengal government all ...
lost against
Suvendu Adhikari Suvendu Adhikari (born 15 December 1970) is an Indian politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the West Bengal unit of Bharatiya Janata Party since May 2021. Adhikari previously worked in the state ministry for the W ...
of the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
by 1,956 votes. Mamata Banerjee however challenged this outcome and the matter is sub judice. As her party won 213 seats out of total 292, she was elected as Chief Minister of West Bengal for the third term. Later at Raj Bhawan, she tendered her resignation to
Jagdeep Dhankhar Jagdeep Dhankhar (; born 18 May 1951) is an Indian politician and lawyer serving as the vice president of India since 2022. He previously served as the List of governors of West Bengal, Governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022. He also serve ...
. She took oath as Chief Minister on 5 May 2021. Her party later won 2 remaining seats and she herself won Bhabanipur by-election by a huge margin of 58,835 votes. She was sworn in as MLA on 7 October. After winning the election, following her promises she launched the scheme Lakshmir Bhandar. In this scheme women under the age of 60 were provided the basic financial help, about 500 rupees for general and 1000 rupees to minorities. The scheme turned out to be a huge success as it became massively popular. Another scheme was also projected under her leadership, Students Credit Card scheme, to give financial supports in loan to intellectual students who are unable to keep higher studies due to lack of money. The loan limit was up to 10 lakh rupees, under the nominee of government of West Bengal. On 30 November 2021, she surpassed her immediate predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to become the third-longest-serving Chief Minister of West Bengal. If Mamata remains in office at least till 26 October 2025, she would become the second-longest-serving Chief Minister after
Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu (born Jyotirindra Basu; 8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010) was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest ...
, superseding
Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician and politician who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1950 until his death in 1962. He played a key role in the founding of several institutions and cities like ...
and if remains in office till 16 May 2025, she would also be become the second-female-longest-serving Chief Minister after
Sheila Dikshit Sheila Dikshit () (née Kapoor; 31 March 1938 – 20 July 2019) was an Indian politician. The longest-serving chief minister of Delhi, as well as the longest-serving female chief minister in Indian history, she served for a period of 15 year ...
, superseding
J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016), popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She ...
.


Controversies and criticism


Saradha Group and Rose Valley financial scandals

The Saradha Group financial scandal and the
Rose Valley financial scandal The Rose Valley financial scandal, or Rose Valley chit fund scam, is a major financial fraud and alleged political scandal that came to light in India in the early 2010s. The scandal involves the Rose Valley Group, a conglomerate that allegedly ...
came to light during her tenure and her painting being sold to the firms were being scrutinised by law enforcement agencies. One of her paintings was also sold to Sudipto Sen (central figure in the Saradha scam) for , while 20 more of her pictures were seized from other Saradha Group shareholders. During her tenure she challenged the federal system of India when she ordered the arrest of CBI officials, who arrived in Kolkata to investigate the Saradha Group financial scandal. But CBI's attempted arrest of Kolkata Police Commissioner was also an attack on federalism.


Allegations of Muslim appeasement

Mamata Banerjee and her government has been accused of " Muslim appeasement" several times by different groups of people including the opposition political parties. Mamata Banerjee has been criticised for starting controversial stipends to imams (Iman Bhatta). The stipends were ruled unconstitutional by
Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...
and ordered the
West Bengal government The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the principal administrative authority of the Indian state of West Bengal, created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial a ...
to stop payment of the monthly stipend to thousands of imams and muezzins in the state. In October 2016, the West Bengal government banned the
Durga Puja Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...
festival immersion after 4:00 pm. Durga Puja was to take place on 12 October and
Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...
on 13 October. This was seen by a section of the West Bengal population as another example of the "'' Muslim Appeasement''" policy of Banerjee's government. The
Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...
overturned the decision and called it ''"a bid to appease minorities"''.


COVID-19 management

Banerjee and her government was widely criticised of the handling of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and was accused of concealing facts by the opposition, critics and many doctors. The opposition accused Mamata of playing "appeasement politics" amid the COVID-19 crisis. The West Bengal Government has been also criticised for not sending enough samples to the
National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections or NIRBI (also known as ICMR-NIRBI) previously known as ''National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases'' is an Indian medical institute that conducts research and develops prevention ...
(NIRBI) for testing. The government later banned use of cellphones in hospitals. However, Mamata Banerjee blamed BJP's IT cell for "using fake news to malign West Bengal’s health department". Many people were arrested for spreading fake news amid lockdown. FIR was lodged against a Bengal BJP MP also for raising "false alarm" over COVID-19 deaths in Bengal.


2024 RG Kar Hospital Rape Case

Banerjee was widely criticised for the rape and murder of a young trainee doctor at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital and alleged coverup where she was accused of trying to protect the now ex principal Sandip Ghosh whose involvement in the incident is being investigated by the CBI.


Sandeshkhali incident

In February 2024, several women in
Sandeshkhali Sandeshkhali is a village in the Sandeshkhali II CD block in the Basirhat subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Sandeshkhali is located at . Area overview The area shown in the ...
village came forward saying that Trinamool Congress local bloc leader and alleged strongmen Sheikh Shahjahan, Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra had been sexually assaulting and raping them. Mamata Bannerjee was accused by the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
leaders for keeping silence on the crime and protecting such criminal politicians. Furthermore, TMC leader
Partha Bhowmick Partha Bhowmick (born 22 January 1964) is an Indian politician and theatre artist who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) in Lok Sabha for Barrackpore since 2024 general election. A member of Trinamool Congress, he previously represented as ...
, who visited Sandeshkhali, claimed that assault allegations were fabricated. Sheikh Shahjahan has been on the run, after Enforcement Directorate officers attempted to arrest him on a corruption case, who were attacked by his supporters. On 29 February 2024, at around 5:30 am (IST), Shahjahan was arrested by the police from
Minakhan Minakhan is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Minakhan is located at . Minakhan CD Block is bounded by Basirha ...
,
North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and ...
by them.


Personal life and recognitions

Throughout her political life, Banerjee has maintained a publicly austere lifestyle, dressing in simple traditional Bengali clothes and avoiding luxuries. During an interview in April 2019, Prime minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
claimed that despite their political differences, Banerjee sends her own selected ''kurtas'' and sweets to him every year. She identifies herself as a
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
. Banerjee is a self-taught painter and a poet. Her 300 paintings were sold for ₹9crore (
The Indian rupee sign ⟨₹⟩ is the currency symbol for the Indian rupee (ISO 4217: INR), the official currency of India. Designed by D. Udaya Kumar, it was presented to the public by the Government of India on 15 July 2010, following its ...
90 million, £990,000 or
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
1,350,000). In 2012, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine named her as one of the
100 Most Influential People in the World ''Time'' 100 is a list of the top 100 most influential people, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly ...
. ''
Bloomberg Markets ''Bloomberg Markets'' is a magazine published six times a year by Bloomberg L.P. as part of Bloomberg News. Aimed at global financial professionals, ''Bloomberg Markets'' publishes articles on the people and issues related to global financial m ...
'' magazine listed her among the 50 most influential people in the world of finance in September 2012. In 2018, she was conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award. Banerjee stepped out into the streets of Kolkata during lockdown, caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, to spread awareness among the common people. While appealing for maintaining religious harmony, Banerjee has reiterated the fact on numerous occasions that ''"''Religion is personal, but festivals are universal." She received an Honorary D.Litt in Literature from St. Xavier's University on 6 February 2023 and another from
Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
on 12 January 2018. She also received an honorary doctorate from the
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), formerly KIIT, Bhubaneswar, is a private deemed university located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It was founded in 1992 as Industrial Training Institute in Bhubaneswar. In 2017 it was rename ...
, a Bhubaneshwar-based deemed university. In 2021, Mamata Banerjee was invited to attend ''World Meeting for Peace'' in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. She was the only Indian invited to attend the event. But in September, the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied her permission to attend the peace conference stating that the event was not "commensurate in status for participation by the chief minister of a state". BJP MP
Subramanian Swamy Subramanian Swamy (born 15 September 1939) is an Indian politician, economist and statistician. Before joining politics, he was a professor of Mathematical Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He is known for his Hindu ...
slammed Modi government on Banerjee's Rome visit cancelation. According to Indian Diplomat K. P. Fabian, the reason cited by MEA was unconvincing. Similarly, in December, Banerjee was denied permission by the MEA to visit
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. TIME magazine published its annual list of 'The 100 Most Influential People of 2021' on 15 September 2021. The list includes Mamata Banerjee among others.


In popular culture

'' Baghini'', a
Bengali film Bengali cinema may refer to: * Cinema of West Bengal, also called Tollywood * Cinema of Bangladesh The Cinema of Bangladesh, locally known as Bangla cinema, is a diverse and vibrant entity, consisting of films produced across various regions ...
, inspired by Mamata Banerjee's life, was released on 24 May 2019. It is not a
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...
.


Works in literature and other fields

Numerous books written by her have been published so far. In 2022, she was given ''Paschimbanga Akademy Award'' for 'Kabita Bitan' which consists of 946 poems. She is also a self-taught painter. Her paintings have also been auctioned several times. She is also a lyricist and her compositions are mostly based on '
Durga Puja Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...
' and 'Motherland'. 'Maa Go Tumi Sarbojanin' sung by
Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...
is one of her most popular songs.


Electoral history


Lok Sabha


West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections


See also

* Ma Mati Manush *
Ambikesh Mahapatra Ambikesh Mahapatra is an Indian academic with the Department of Chemistry at Jadavpur University, He gained national attention due to his arrest in 2012 for sharing a satirical cartoon about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, leading to ...


Notes


References


Further reading

;Books * * * * ;Journals *


External links

*
Official website (Chief Minister's office)

Official page on Trinamool Congress Party's website

Profile
at ''
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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Mamata 1955 births Living people Bengali politicians Bengali writers Bengali Hindus Indian Hindus Hindu poets Indian political party founders Indian anti-communists Poets from West Bengal Women artists from West Bengal Painters from West Bengal Politicians from Kolkata Artists from Kolkata Writers from Kolkata Jogamaya Devi College alumni Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College alumni Shri Shikshayatan College alumni University of Calcutta alumni India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 West Bengal MLAs 2011–2016 West Bengal MLAs 2016–2021 West Bengal MLAs 2021–2026 20th-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Bengali poets 21st-century Indian poets 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian painters 21st-century Indian women painters Members of the Cabinet of India Railway ministers of India Coal ministers of India Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Chief ministers of West Bengal Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Women members of the Cabinet of India Women chief ministers of Indian states Women members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Women members of the Lok Sabha