Mamata Banerjee is a well known name in the Indian political arena. Born on 5th January 1955 in Kolkata, West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had been into active politics for decades now. Affectionately referred to as Didi (elder sister), she is hailed as the founder of Trinamool Congress party in West Bengal. Known for her simple lifestyle and her ability to reach out to the masses, she won the General Elections in 2009 and is currently the Minister of Railways in India.

Although presently she is the chief executive of the Trinamool Congress, she began with her political career in 1970s with the Congress party. Her hard work earned her the post of the General Secretary with the Mahila Congress in West Bengal from 1976 to 1980. In the General Elections of 1984 she beat her rival, Somnath Chatterjee, from Jadavpur constituency to win a seat in the Parliament and, thus, eventually becoming one of the youngest parliamentarian of that era. She also held the post of General Secretary of All India Youth Congress. However, she lost her seat in the year 1989 elections but managed to secure her position once again at 1991 General election from South Kolkata constituency. Her association with Congress did not last long. Under the Narasimha Rao government she was declared the Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development. But she fell out with the government because the latter was not paying enough attention to improve the condition of Indian sports.

Mamata Banerjee’s differences with the Congress grew with passing time and finally on 22nd December, 1997 her association with All India Congress Party ended when she was expelled. It was during this time that the All Indian Trinamool Congress (TMC) was founded with Mamata Banerjee at the helm. Soon Mamata Banerjee led TMC became an apparent opposition in a state that was largely communist. During the 1999 elections, Mamata Banerjee joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was part of the National Democratic Alliance government. She was made the Minister of Railways. However, with BJP, too, she could not keep her allegiance for long. In 2001 she walked out of the alliance and allied with Congress once again to fight the state elections in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee was back in the Cabinet as the Minister of Coal and Mines after the 2004 elections.

Mamata Banerjee emerged as a strong force in the arena of West Bengal when she opposed the industrialisation in West Bengal under the Buddhadev Bhattacharya government. Her party suffered losses during the Kolkata Municipal Elections when Subroto Mukherjee, the then Mayor, walked out of her party to join the Congress. As a result TMC lost control of the municipal corporation in the capital of West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, however, continued her agitation against the Salim group and Tata Motors. Both these renowned companies were ready to invest lump sum in the state.

The year 2009 saw another phase of General Elections in India. This time, owing to several reasons, Mamata Banerjee and her party won the majority of the seats in the state. Her party won 19 seats and entered into an alliance with the Congress party and SUCI. With an outstanding performance in the elections behind them the TMC supremo, once again, has been handed the Ministry of Railways in 2009.