Bengal saga: The seven political lives of Mamata Banerjee

New Delhi: Five centuries ago, William Shakespeare, in As You Like It, described the seven stages of life that every individual passes through.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—often called the stormy petrel of Indian politics—has, in her own way, crossed seven distinct milestones in her political journey. Most remain vivid in public memory and are captured in iconic images. One, however, played out in the Lok Sabha without a defining photograph.

The giant killer

In one of the biggest upsets in Indian politics, Mamata—then a 29-year-old Youth Congress leader—defeated CPM stalwart Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur in the 1984 Lok Sabha polls, riding the sympathy wave that took the Congress past the 400-seat mark. It was the only electoral defeat Chatterjee, a 10-time parliamentarian, ever suffered. He later shifted constituencies and returned to the Lok Sabha.

Assault on the street

On August 16, 1990, Mamata, still with the Youth Congress, was attacked by alleged Left-affiliated goons at Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata. Struck on the head with a rod, she sustained a skull fracture and heavy bleeding, and was hospitalised for a month. The image of a heavily bandaged Mamata in a hospital bed cemented her street-fighter persona and catapulted her to national prominence.

Throwing papers in Parliament

In a dramatic moment in August 2005, Mamata, then a lone Trinamool MP, flung a sheaf of papers towards the Chair in the Lok Sabha after being denied the chance to raise the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigration in West Bengal. She submitted her resignation, but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee rejected it.

Singur-Nandigram-Lalgarh movements

These agitations paved her path to power. The first two, Singur and Nandigram, revolved around opposition to the Left government’s land acquisition policies, while Lalgarh protests targeted alleged police excesses. Mamata’s 26-day hunger strike during the Singur agitation became a defining moment, giving rise to the “Ma-Mati-Manush” (Mother, Motherland and People) slogan.

Parivartan 

In the 2011 Assembly elections, the TMC and its allies secured 227 out of 294 seats, ending 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal. The Left was reduced to 62 seats, its lowest tally since 1977, triggering scenes of unprecedented celebration in Kolkata.

Khela Hobe

The politics of Bengal underwent a sea-change after a decade of TMC rule, with the BJP emerging as the principal Opposition party. Mamata was in a tough electoral battle against saffron leader Suvendu Adhikari, her former lieutenant, at Nandigram, where she suffered an accident and broke her leg. The Khela Hobe (game is on) slogan from Mamata in a wheelchair, with a bandaged leg, led to an emphatic TMC victory in 2021 with 213 seats and a 48% vote share.

Dual Branding

As she battles the BJP in yet another Assembly poll, Mamata shares equal space with her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. The image projects a visual branding of dual leadership. Posters depict her as “Sarbadhinayika” (Supreme Leader) while Abhishek is called "Odhinayak" (Captain).

How will the future unfold? Only time will tell.