Mamata Banerjee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mamata Banerjee
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Official portrait, 2015
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| 8th Chief Minister of West Bengal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 20 May 2011 |
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| Governor |
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| Preceded by | Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 3 October 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Sovandeb Chattopadhyay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Bhabanipur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 58,835 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 16 November 2011 – 2 May 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Subrata Bakshi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Sovandeb Chattopadhyay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Bhabanipur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 54,213 (2011) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Ajit Kumar Panja | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1991–2011 |
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| Preceded by | Biplab Dasgupta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Subrata Bakshi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Kolkata Dakshin, West Bengal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1984–1989 |
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| Preceded by | Somnath Chatterjee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Malini Bhattacharya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Jadavpur, West Bengal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 January 1955 Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, India |
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| Political party | All India Trinamool Congress (1998–present) |
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| Other political affiliations |
Indian National Congress (1975–1998) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Abhishek Banerjee (nephew) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residences | 30-B, Harish Chatterjee Street, Kolkata | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  |
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| Nicknames | Didi (transl. elder sister) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Positions Held
1970–80: General-Secretary, Mahila Congress (I), West Bengal
1978–81: Secretary, District Congress Committee (Indira) [D.C.C. (I)], Calcutta South 1984: General-Secretary, All India Youth Congress (I) 1985–87: Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 1987–88: Member, National Council, All India Youth Congress (I)Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home AffairsMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Human Resource Development1988Member, Executive Committee, Congress Parliamentary Party [C.P.P. (I)] 1989: Member, Executive Committee, Pradesh Congress Committee [P.C.C. (I)], West Bengal 1990: President, Youth Congress, West Bengal 1993–96: Member, Committee on Home Affairs 1995–96: Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home AffairsMember, Committee on Public Accounts 1996–97: Member, Committee on Home AffairsMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs 1998–99: Chairman, Committee on Railways, Member of General Purposes CommitteeMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs 1999: Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party, Lok SabhaMember, General Purposes Committee 2001–2003: Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Industries 8 September 2003 – 8 January 2004: Union Cabinet Minister (without any portfolio) 2004: Member, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law & Justice 5 August 2006: Member, Committee on Home Affairs 5 August 2007: Member, Committee on Home Affairs 31 May 2009 – 19 July 2011: Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha |
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As of 9 October 2011
Source: [1] |
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Mamata Banerjee (born 5 January 1955) is a famous Indian politician. She is the eighth and current Chief Minister of West Bengal, a state in India. She became the first woman to hold this important position on 20 May 2011. Before becoming Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee served as a Union Cabinet Minister several times in the Indian government.
She started her own political party, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC), in 1998. This happened after she left the Indian National Congress party. She became the chairperson of her new party in 2001. People often call her Didi, which means elder sister in Bengali.
Mamata Banerjee was the first woman to be the Minister of Railways twice. She also served as the Minister of Coal and held roles in Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development. She became well-known for standing up against the government's land policies in West Bengal. These policies aimed to take farmers' land for factories.
In 2011, her party, the AITC, won a huge victory in West Bengal. They defeated the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government, which had been in power for 34 years. This was a big change in the state's politics.
Contents
- Mamata Banerjee's Early Life and Education
- Mamata Banerjee's Political Journey
- Chief Minister of West Bengal
- Personal Life and Achievements
- Creative Works
- Images for kids
- See also
Mamata Banerjee's Early Life and Education
Mamata Banerjee was born in Kolkata (then called Calcutta), West Bengal. She grew up in a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family. Her parents were Promileswar Banerjee and Gayetri Devi. Sadly, her father, Promileswar, passed away when she was 17 years old. He was a freedom fighter.
She finished her higher secondary education in 1970. She then earned a bachelor's degree in history from Jogamaya Devi College. Later, she got her master's degree in Islamic history from the University of Calcutta. She also studied education at Shri Shikshayatan College and law at Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College in Kolkata.
Mamata Banerjee got involved in politics at a young age, around 15. While studying at Jogamaya Devi College, she started student unions. These unions were part of the Congress (I) Party. She continued to be active in the Congress (I) Party in West Bengal. She held various positions in the party and other local political groups.
Mamata Banerjee's Political Journey
Starting Her Political Career with Congress
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Mamata Banerjee began her political journey with the Indian National Congress party in the 1970s. In 1975, she gained public attention for a protest against politician Jayaprakash Narayan. She quickly moved up in the local Congress party. She served as the general secretary of Mahila Congress (Indira) in West Bengal from 1976 to 1980.
In the 1984 Indian general election, Banerjee became one of India's youngest parliament members. She won the Jadavpur parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal. She also became the general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress in 1984. She lost her seat in the 1989 Indian general election. However, she was re-elected in the 1991 Indian general election for the Calcutta South constituency. She kept this seat in several elections until 2009.
In 1991, Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao appointed Banerjee as a Union Minister of State. She was in charge of Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development. As sports minister, she even protested against the government's lack of support for improving sports. She was removed from these roles in 1993.
In 1992, Banerjee tried to meet the Chief Minister Jyoti Basu at Writer's Building with a physically challenged girl. She was stopped and arrested by the police. She vowed to enter the building again only as Chief Minister. In 1993, a protest march led by her resulted in a tragic incident where lives were lost.
Forming the Trinamool Congress Party
In 1997, Mamata Banerjee left the Congress Party in West Bengal. She had different political views from the state party president. She then helped create the All India Trinamool Congress party. This new party quickly became the main opposition to the long-ruling Communist government in West Bengal.
In 1998, she controversially pulled a Member of Parliament by the collar. This was to stop him from protesting against a bill.
First Time as Railway Minister (1999–2000)
In 1999, she joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. She became the Railways Minister. In 2000, she presented her first Railway Budget. She introduced many new trains and services, especially for her home state of West Bengal. She also focused on developing tourism related to railways.
She resigned briefly in 2000 to protest rising petroleum prices. She later withdrew her resignation.
Minister of Coal and Mines (2004)
In early 2001, she left the NDA government. This was due to corruption allegations against senior ministers. She then allied with the Congress Party for the 2001 West Bengal elections.
She returned to the NDA government in September 2003 as a cabinet minister without a specific department. On 9 January 2004, she became the Minister of Coal and Mines. She held these roles until May 2004.
Election Challenges (2004–2006)
In the 2004 Indian general election, her party allied with the BJP. However, they lost the election. She was the only Trinamool Congress member to win a parliamentary seat from West Bengal. In 2005, her party lost control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. In 2006, the Trinamool Congress lost more than half of its seats in West Bengal's Assembly Elections.
In 2006, she threw her resignation papers at the deputy speaker in Parliament. This happened when her request to discuss illegal immigration was rejected.
Major Protests: Singur and Nandigram
On 20 October 2005, Mamata Banerjee protested against the government's policy of taking farmland for industrial development. This was happening in Howrah, West Bengal. She and her supporters protested outside a hotel where a foreign investor had arrived.
The Singur Protest
In November 2006, Banerjee was stopped by police on her way to Singur. She was going to a rally against a proposed Tata Motors car factory. She protested at the West Bengal assembly and called for a 12-hour shutdown. She alleged that the administration acted unfairly by stopping her. After this, some Trinamool Congress members damaged furniture in the assembly.
On 4 December, Banerjee started a 26-day hunger strike in Kolkata. She was protesting the government's forceful acquisition of farmland. The then-President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked her to end her fast. She finally ended her fast on 29 December. Later, after she became Chief Minister, she returned 400 acres of land to the farmers in Singur. In 2016, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the land acquisition for the Tata Motors plant was illegal.
The Nandigram Protest
The Nandigram violence happened in 2007 in Nandigram, West Bengal. Police entered the area to stop protests against the government's plan to take land for a special economic zone. This incident led to the deaths of at least 14 villagers and many injuries. Many thinkers and artists protested against this event.
Banerjee wrote to the Prime Minister and Home Minister to stop what she called "state-sponsored violence." Her strong actions during this movement are believed to have helped her win the 2011 elections.
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Electoral Success (2009–2011)
Before the 2009 parliamentary elections, she joined forces with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). This alliance was led by the Indian National Congress. They won 26 seats. Banerjee became the railway minister for the second time. In the 2010 Municipal Elections, TMC won the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
In 2011, Mamata Banerjee achieved a huge victory. Her party ended the 34-year rule of the Left Front government in West Bengal. She then became the Chief Minister of the state.
Second Time as Railway Minister (2009–2011)
In 2009, Mamata Banerjee became the railway minister again. Her focus remained on improving railway services in West Bengal.
She introduced many non-stop Duronto Express trains connecting major cities. She also launched other passenger trains, including special women-only trains. A long-delayed railway line segment in Jammu and Kashmir was also opened during her time. She stepped down as railway minister to become the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Chief Minister of West Bengal
First Term (2011–2016)
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In the 2011 West Bengal state assembly election, the All India Trinamool Congress and its allies won 227 seats. TMC alone won 184 seats. This marked the end of the world's longest-ruling democratically elected Communist party.
Mamata Banerjee took oath as Chief Minister of West Bengal on 20 May 2011. As the first female Chief Minister, one of her first actions was to return 400 acres of land to the farmers in Singur. She also helped establish the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.
She started various improvements in education and health. For education, teachers began receiving their pay on time. For health, she promised a three-phase plan to improve healthcare. She also worked to stop petrol price increases and temporarily halt foreign investment in retail. To improve law and order, new police commissionerates were created in several cities.
Banerjee also showed interest in promoting the state's history and culture. She named several Kolkata Metro stations after freedom fighters. In 2012, Bill Gates praised her government for achieving a full year without any polio cases. She is generally against bandhs (work stoppages), though she supported them when in opposition.
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Second Term (2016–2021)
In the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the All India Trinamool Congress won a huge majority. Under Mamata Banerjee's leadership, they secured 211 out of 293 seats. She was elected as Chief Minister for her second term. Her party became the first ruling party in West Bengal to win without an ally since 1962.
In 2017, a scheme launched by her government, Kanyashree Prakalpa, received international recognition. The United Nations ranked it as the best among 552 social schemes from 62 countries.
Third Term (2021–Present)
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In the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, AITC again won a large majority. Mamata Banerjee, however, lost her own seat in Nandigram Assembly constituency by a small margin. Despite her personal loss, her party won 213 out of 292 seats. She was then elected as Chief Minister for her third term.
She took oath as Chief Minister on 5 May 2021. Later, she won the Bhabanipur by-election by a large number of votes. She was sworn in as an MLA on 7 October.
After winning the election, she launched the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. This scheme provides financial help to women under 60. Another important scheme launched was the Students Credit Card scheme. This helps students get loans for higher studies if they lack money. The loan limit is up to 10 lakh rupees, supported by the West Bengal government.
On 30 November 2021, she became the third-longest-serving Chief Minister of West Bengal. If she remains in office until 26 October 2025, she will become the second-longest-serving Chief Minister after Jyoti Basu.
Personal Life and Achievements
Mamata Banerjee lives a simple life. She wears traditional Bengali clothes and avoids luxuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi once mentioned that despite their political differences, she sends him kurtas and sweets every year. She also met PM Modi's wife, Ms. Jashodaben, and gifted her a saree.
She identifies herself as a Hindu. Banerjee is also a self-taught painter and a poet. Her paintings have been sold for significant amounts. In 2012, Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Bloomberg Markets magazine also listed her among the 50 most influential people in the world of finance in 2012. In 2018, she received the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, she went out in Kolkata to spread awareness. She often emphasizes that "Religion is personal, but festivals are universal." Yashwant Sinha once shared that Mamata offered to be a hostage during the Kandahar hijacking crisis. He said she was ready to make a great sacrifice for the country.
In 2021, Mamata Banerjee was invited to a World Meeting for Peace in Rome. She was the only Indian invited. However, the Indian government did not allow her to attend. Similarly, she was denied permission to visit Nepal in December. On 15 September 2021, TIME magazine included Mamata Banerjee in its annual list of 'The 100 Most Influential People of 2021'.
Creative Works
Mamata Banerjee has written many books. In 2022, she received the Paschimbanga Akademy Award for her book 'Kabita Bitan', which contains 946 poems.
She is also a self-taught painter, and her paintings have been sold at auctions. Additionally, she is a lyricist. Her songs are often about 'Durga Puja' and her 'Motherland'. One of her popular songs is 'Maa Go Tumi Sarbojanin'.
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2015
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Mamata Banerjee's signature
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Mamata Banerjee at Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centre for Human Excellence and Social Sciences, Rajarhat, New Town, Kolkata
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Mamata Banerjee speaking to the elected members and party workers at Bongaon stadium after the West Bengal panchayat elections.
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Banerjee assumes the charge of the Minister for Coal and Mines in New Delhi on 9 January 2004
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Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal speaking at an event in London.
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Banerjee has sworn again as Cabinet Minister at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi at 2009.
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Then United States secretary of State, Hillary Clinton during a meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the Writers', Kolkata on 7 May,2012.
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Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal shown at an event in London on 27 July 2015.
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Priti Patel, then Minister of State for Employment in Government of United Kingdom, and current Home Secretary of United Kingdom meeting Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal in London.
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Prime Minister Modi, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina and the Chief Minister Banerjee at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on 8 April 2017.
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President Kovind during a Foundation Stone laying ceremony at the 64th Annual Convocation of IIT Kharagpur, in West Bengal. The Governor of West Bengal, and the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are also seen.
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Banerjee giving speech at Bengal Global Business Summit - 2022 in Kolkata on 20 April.
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Banerjee with UNESCO officers Érik Falt and Tim Curtis, during a celebration over the enlistment of Durga Puja as a intangible cultural heritage, on 1 September 2022.
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Mamata Banerjee at 43rd International Kolkata Book Fair with her books in hand
See also
In Spanish: Mamata Banerjee para niños
- Ma Mati Manush
