Chief Minister of West Bengal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chief Minister of West Bengal |
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![]() Seal of the State of West Bengal
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Style |
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Abbreviation | CM |
Member of |
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Reports to |
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Residence | 30-B, Harish Chatterjee Street, Kolkata |
Seat | Nabanna, Howrah |
Nominator | Members of the Government of West Bengal in West Bengal Legislative Assembly |
Appointer | Governor of West Bengal by convention based on appointees ability to command confidence in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly |
Term length | At the confidence of the assembly
Chief Minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.
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Precursor | Prime Minister of Bengal |
Inaugural holder | Prafulla Chandra Ghosh as Premier Bidhan Chandra Ray as Chief Minister |
Formation | 15 August 1947 |
Deputy | Deputy Chief Minister (vacant) |
Salary |
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The Chief Minister of West Bengal (পশ্চিমবঙ্গের মুখ্যমন্ত্রী) is like the main leader of the government in the Indian state of West Bengal. Think of them as the head of the state's team of ministers. This team makes important decisions for the people of West Bengal.
The Chief Minister chooses other ministers to help run different parts of the government. Together, they make sure the state works smoothly. The Governor of West Bengal officially appoints the Chief Minister. However, the person chosen must have the support of most members in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
West Bengal became a part of India on August 17, 1947. Before that, it was part of a larger area called Bengal under British rule. Since 1947, West Bengal has had several Chief Ministers. The first leader was Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, who was called a "premier" at the time.
Later, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy became the first official Chief Minister in 1950. This happened after India's Constitution was put into action. There was a period of political changes between 1967 and 1972. During this time, the state had different governments and sometimes the central government had to take control for a while. This is called "President's rule."
A very important event was when Jyoti Basu became Chief Minister in 1977. He led the state for 23 years, which was a record in India for a long time! His party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), stayed in power for 34 years.
In 2011, the Trinamool Congress party won the election. Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister on May 20, 2011. She is the first woman to hold this important position in West Bengal. She has been re-elected twice, in 2016 and 2021, and is still the Chief Minister today.
Contents
Understanding the Political Parties
This section helps you understand the different political parties mentioned in the lists below. Each party has a special color to make it easier to follow.
Colour key for parties |
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Trinamool Congress Indian National Congress Bangla Congress Communist Party of India (Marxist) Independent N/A (President's rule) |
List of West Bengal's Chief Ministers
Here you can see a list of all the leaders who have served West Bengal. It includes both the early "Premiers" and the "Chief Ministers" as we know them today.
Premiers (1947–1950)
These leaders were called "Premiers" before the Indian Constitution was fully in place.
No. | Portrait | Name | Tenure | Duration | Assembly (election) |
Party | Appointed
by (Governor) |
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1 | ![]() |
Prafulla Chandra Ghosh | 15 August 1947 | 22 January 1948 | 160 days | Provincial Assembly
(1946–52) |
Indian National Congress | Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari | |
2 | ![]() |
Bidhan Chandra Roy | 23 January 1948 | 26 January 1950 | 2 years, 3 days |
Chief Ministers (1950–Present)
This list shows all the Chief Ministers of West Bengal since 1950.
# | Portrait | Name | Constituency | Tenure | Assembly (election) |
Party | |||
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1 | ![]() |
Bidhan Chandra Roy | 26 January 1950 | 30 March 1952 | 12 years, 156 days | Provincial (1946 election) |
Indian National Congress | ||
Bowbazar | 31 March 1952 | 5 April 1957 | 1st
(1952 election) |
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6 April 1957 | 2 April 1962 | 2nd
(1957 election) |
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Chowrangee | 3 April 1962 | 1 July 1962 | 3rd (1962 election) |
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2 | ![]() |
Prafulla Chandra Sen | Arambagh East | 2 July 1962 | 1 March 1967 | 4 years, 242 days | |||
3 | ![]() |
Ajoy Mukherjee | Tamluk | 1 March 1967 | 21 November 1967 | 265 days | 4th
(1967 election) |
Bangla Congress | |
4 | ![]() |
Prafulla Chandra Ghosh | Jhargram | 21 November 1967 | 20 February 1968 | 91 days | Independent | ||
– | ![]() |
Vacant (President's rule) |
N/A | 20 February 1968 | 25 February 1969 | 1 year, 5 days | Dissolved | N/A | |
(3) | ![]() |
Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee | Tamluk | 25 February 1969 | 19 March 1970 | 1 year, 22 days | 5th (1969 election) |
Bangla Congress | |
– | ![]() |
Vacant (President's rule) |
N/A | 19 March 1970 | 30 July 1970 | 1 year, 14 days | N/A | ||
30 July 1970 | 2 April 1971 | Dissolved | |||||||
(3) | ![]() |
Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee | Tamluk | 2 April 1971 | 29 June 1971 | 88 days | 6th
(1971 election) |
Indian National Congress | |
– | ![]() |
Vacant (President's rule) |
N/A | 29 June 1971 | 20 March 1972 | 265 days | Dissolved | N/A | |
5 | ![]() |
Siddhartha Shankar Ray | Maldah | 20 March 1972 | 30 April 1977 | 5 years, 41 days | 7th
(1972 election) |
Indian National Congress | |
– | ![]() |
Vacant (President's rule) |
N/A | 30 April 1977 | 21 June 1977 | 52 days | Dissolved | N/A | |
6 | ![]() |
Jyoti Basu | Satgachhia | 21 June 1977 | 23 May 1982 | 23 years, 138 days | 8th
(1977 election) |
Communist Party of India (Marxist) | |
24 May 1982 | 29 March 1987 | 9th
(1982 election) |
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30 March 1987 | 18 June 1991 | 10th
(1987 election) |
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19 June 1991 | 15 May 1996 | 11th
(1991 election) |
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16 May 1996 | 6 November 2000 | 12th
(1996 election) |
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7 | ![]() |
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya | Jadavpur | 6 November 2000 | 14 May 2001 | 10 years, 195 days | |||
15 May 2001 | 17 May 2006 | 13th
(2001 election) |
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18 May 2006 | 20 May 2011 | 14th (2006 election) |
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8 | Mamata Banerjee | Bhabanipur | 20 May 2011 | 25 May 2016 | 14 years, 135 days | 15th
(2011 election) |
Trinamool Congress | ||
26 May 2016 | 4 May 2021 | 16th
(2016 election) |
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5 May 2021 | Incumbent | 17th
(2021 election) |
Interesting Facts and Figures
This section shares some cool statistics about the Chief Ministers and the political parties in West Bengal.
How Long Have Parties Led?
This chart shows which political parties have held the Chief Minister's office for the longest time in West Bengal.
Fraction of time of holding CMO by party in West Bengal (as of September 2025) Communist Party of India (Marxist) (46.13%) Indian National Congress (33.88%) Trinamool Congress (18.24%) Bangla Congress (1.44%) Independent (0.34%)
Longest-Serving Leaders
This table lists the Chief Ministers by how long they served in office.
No. | Name | Party | Length of term | ||
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Longest continuous term | Total years of premiership | ||||
1 | Jyoti Basu | CPI(M) | 23 years, 137 days | 23 years, 137 days | |
2 | Bidhan Chandra Roy | INC | 12 years, 156 days | 14 years, 159 days | |
3 | Mamata Banerjee | TMC | 14 years, 135 days | 14 years, 135 days | |
4 | Buddhadeb Bhattacharya | CPI(M) | 10 years, 188 days | 10 years, 188 days | |
5 | Siddhartha Shankar Ray | INC | 5 years, 41 days | 5 years, 41 days | |
6 | Prafulla Chandra Sen | INC | 4 years, 234 days | 4 years, 234 days | |
7 | Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee | BC / INC | 1 year, 19 days | 2 years, 6 days | |
8 | Prafulla Chandra Ghosh | IND / INC | 160 days | 250 days |
More to Explore
- List of deputy chief ministers of West Bengal
- List of governors of West Bengal
- List of rulers of Bengal
- Prime Minister of Bengal
Images for kids
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The State Emblem of India. West Bengal has come under President's rule on four occasions, all between 1968 and 1977.
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With over 23 years in office, Jyoti Basu of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is India's third longest-serving Chief Minister.
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Basu's successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who served for over 11 years.