Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (January 5) wished West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her birthday, and prayed for her good health and long life. In a post on X, the Prime Minister said, "Birthday wishes to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Didi. I pray for her good health and long life."
All about Mamata Banerjee
Banerjee, daughter of Late Promileswar Banerjee and Gayatri Banerjee, was born in Kolkata on January 5, 1955. She holds Bachelor's degrees in Arts (BA), Education (B.Ed), Law (LLB), and a Master's degree in Arts (MA).
She is a three-time Chief Minister of West Bengal. Banerjee also holds the distinction of being the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal. She has been elected to the Lok Sabha seven times and has also served as a Union Cabinet minister.
Banerjee was inducted into the West Bengal Chhatra Parishad while a student of Jogmaya Debi College and worked as a Member of its Working Committee during 1977-83.
She held the post of General Secretary, West Bengal Congress (Indira) between 1979-80 and was Secretary, West Bengal Provincial Trade Union Congress. During the period 1983-88, she was the Secretary of the Women's Wing of the Indian National Trade Union Congress and was the Secretary, South Calcutta District Congress (Indira) for the period 1980-85.
In 1984, she was elected as an MP from the Jadavpur Constituency and held the post of General Secretary of the Youth Congress (Indira) and became a member of the National Council in 1987 and a member of the Executive Committee of the Congress Parliamentary Party in 1988.
She was re-elected as an MP in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2009 from the South Kolkata Parliamentary Constituency.
She has served as a member of several Parliamentary Committees and was appointed as a Minister of State for Youth and Sports, Women and Child Development, Government of India in 1991. She was appointed the Railway Minister of the Government of India in 1999 and Cabinet Minister for Coal and Mines in 2004. In 2009, she was re-appointed as the Railway Minister.
In 2011, All India Trinamool Congress registered a historic win to put an end to a 34-year-old regime. On May 20, Banerjee took over as the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal.
In spite of her very busy work schedule, she has authored over twenty books and created over 5000 oil paintings, quite a few of which have been auctioned. She has donated the proceeds of the auctions for various developmental and social causes. Banerjee is also an accomplished poet. Her writings are in Bengali and English.
