Mamata Banerjee swung to power in West Bengal and became Chief Minister in 2011, ending a staggering 34 years of Left rule in the state. In the 2016 Assembly elections, she bettered her performance with her party, Trinamool Congress, clinching 200-plus seats.
From fighting the Left rule, to fighting criticism, here’s a glimpse of Mamata’s three-decade long political journey.
The Beginning
Mamata Banerjee started her political career in the 1970s as a student leader of Chhatra Porishad, the student wing of Congress.
Assuming Power
In her debut Lok Sabha election, she defeated CPI (M) heavyweight and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur constituency in 1984.
Ups and Downs
In 1989, Mamata lost the Lok Sabha election.
In 1991, she became the Union Minister for HRD, Youth Affairs and Sports in the Narasimha Rao government.
She retained the Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency for six consecutive terms from 1991-2009.
From Congress to Trinamool
Mamata broke away from the Congress and formed her own party, the Trinamool Congress, in 1998.
The following year, she became the Railway Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha election, Mamata was the lone Trinamool MP in the Lok Sabha.
Janata ki Mamata
In 2011, Mamata ended 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal and stormed to power with a thumping majority. She won 184 out of the 294 seats.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)