Mamata Banerjee is an Indian politician, current Chief Minister of West Bengal, and the founder-president of the All India Trinamool Congress party in 1997. She is often referred to as Didi.
In 2011, Banerjee achieved a landslide victory for the TMC congressional alliance in Bengal, defeating the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Front plus years of service from the world’s democratically elected communist government in the process.
She previously served as Minister of Railways twice and also the First Woman Minister of India, Minister of Coal, and State Minister for Human Resource Development, Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development in the cabinet of the Indian government.
She rose to prominence after opposing the policies of acquiring land for industrialization by the then-communist government in Bengal for Special Economic Zones at the cost of farmers and peasants.
In 2012, Time named her one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” In September 2012, Bloomberg Markets magazine listed her among the 50 most influential people in the world of finance.
Mamata Banerjee Age / Wiki
| Born | 5 January 1955, Calcutta, West Bengal, India |
| Real Name | Mamata Bandyopadhyay |
| Age | 68 Years old |
| Zodiac Sign | Capricorn |
| Education | Desh Bandhu Shishu Sikkhalaya Jogamaya Devi College Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College University of Calcutta Shri Shikshayatan College |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Caste | Bengali Hindu Brahmin Caste |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Husband | Unmarried |
| Political Party | All India Trinamool Congress |
| Parents | Father: Promileswar Banerjee Mother: Gayetri Devi |
| Siblings | Babun Banerjee Amit Banerjee Kali Banerjee Ajit Banerjee Ganesh Banerjee Samir Banerjee |
| Net Worth | In Rupees: ₹5 Crore (As of 2023) |
Mamata Banerjee Height and Weight
| Height | 5 Feet 3 Inches 1.63 Meters 163 Centimeters |
| Weight | 65 Kilograms 143 Pounds |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Tattoo | No |
| Piercing | Yes |
| Body Measurements | Unknown |
Mamata Banerjee Biography
Mamata Banerjee was born on 5 January 1955, in Kolkata, West Bengal as Mamata Bandyopadhyay. She was born into a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family. Mamata Banerjee’s father’s name is Promileswar Banerjee, who was a freedom fighter, and her mother, Gayatri Devi was a housewife.
When she was 17 years old her father Promileswar Banerjee died due to a lack of medical treatment. In 1970, Banerjee completed the higher secondary board examination from Deshbandhu Sishu Sikshalay.
She received her Bachelor’s degree in History from Jogamaya Devi College. Later earned a master’s degree in Islamic history from the University of Calcutta. She was followed by a degree in education from Shri Shikshayatan University.
She also has a law degree from Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law University, Kolkata. She was honored with D.Litt from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology.
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Mamata Banerjee Personal Life
Mamata Banerjee is unmarried and has no children. She identifies herself as a Hindu. She maintains a simple frugal lifestyle. At public appearances, she is usually dressed in a simple Bengali traditional Saree and avoids luxuries.
She does not wear jewelry, cosmetics, etc. She is considered to be incorruptible. Banerjee is a self-taught painter and poet. She sold her many paintings which would give her more than ₹9 crores.
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Mamata Banerjee Political Career
Mamata Banerjee began her political career when he was only 15 years old with the Congress National party in the 1970s. She quickly got a lot of media attention for protection against politician Jayaprakash Narayan.
Sooner Congress party identified her then she rose in the ranks of the local women’s organization of the All India Congress Committee and remained the general secretary of All India Mahila Congress (Indira), West Bengal, from 1976 to 1980.
In the 1984 general election, she was elected MP from the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, defeating Communist leader Somnath Chatterjee. At that time she was one of the youngest MPs in the country.
From 1991 to 1993, she was the Minister for the development of human resources, women and children’s development, and Minister of Sports and Youth during the government of PV Narasimha Rao. Subsequently, she was also Minister of Railways twice.
She later announced his resignation as Minister in protest of the government’s indifference to sports at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. Her resignation was accepted in 1993.
In April 1996, he accused his party of supporting the CPI in West Bengal. Calling himself the only protesting voice in the party, she demanded a “clean Congress”.
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Rise of Trinamool Congress
In 1997, Mamata Banerjee left the Congress Party and founded the All India Trinamool Congress which quickly became the main opposition party in West Bengal by opposing the policies of the Communist Party of India.
On December 11, 1996, when Samajwadi Party MP Daroga Prasad Saroj went down to the Lok Sabha wall to oppose the “Women’s Protection Bill”, Mamata Banerjee grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her out of the wall. The incident also sparked some controversy.
In 1999, Mamata joined the BJP-led NDA alliance, the electoral alliance won 24.4 percent of the vote and 7 of the 42 constituencies of West Bengal. The Congress party was only able to win a single constituency with a 15.2 percent share of the vote.
As a result, the Trinamool Congress developed into the leading opposition party against the communists ruling West Bengal. In 2001 there was a break between the BJP and Mamata Banerjee, she resigned from the ministerial office and the WBTC left the coalition government and the alliance with the BJP.
The occasion was the so-called Operation West End, in which investigative journalists exposed the corruption of several government employees.
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Chief Minister of West Bengal
The Trinamool Congress continued to gain popularity and, led by Mamata Banerjee, won the election to the West Bengal parliament in April/May 2011. This was the end of 34 years of the communist government in West Bengal.
On May 20, 2011, Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as Chief Minister of West Bengal. On October 9, 2011, she put her parliamentary mandate reflected in the Lok Sabha.
In the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress alone won 211 seats (out of a total of 294 seats) to form the government. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was re-sworn in as West Bengal Chief Minister.
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Mamata Banerjee Controversies
Muslim appeasement Policy
Mamata Banerjee and her Political party Trinamool Congress have been always accused of “Muslim appeasement” by different groups of people including the opposition political parties.
The main opposition political party BJP always accuses Mamata Banerjee of illegal immigration of Bangladeshi Muslims and Rohingya Muslims. In political rallies, the BJP is always accusing Mamata Didi of allowing millions of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in West Bengal.
Durga Idol Immersion Controversy
In October 2016, Mamata Banerjee banned the Durga Puja festival immersion after 4:00 pm. Durga Puja was to take place on 12 October and Muharram on 13 October that’s why the Bengal government banned Durga idol immersion so they can do Muslim appeasement to get Muslim votes in the West Bengal elections.
This incident was seen by a section of the West Bengal population as another example of the “Muslim Appeasement” policy of Mamata’s government. The Calcutta High Court repealed the government decision and called it “a bid to appease minorities”.
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Mamata Banerjee Accident
On March 10, 2021, Mamata Banerjee went to Nandigram to attend an election rally she had sustained injuries in her leg. She was allegedly ‘pushed’ by a few people in Nandigram.
Mamata Banerjee said “There were no police at the spot. I was standing here with the door of my car open. I was deliberately pushed by 4-5 people. My leg is swollen and it is hurting. I am returning to Kolkata. I am feeling feverish and having chest pain,”
But the local police and eyewitnesses said the incident was “not an attack”, and the opposition political parties say it was just a drama and public stunt to get votes in the near election.
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