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Chief Minister of West Bengal

Head of the government of West Bengal


Head of the government of West Bengal

FieldValue
postChief Minister
bodyWest Bengal
imageFile:Ms. Mamata Banerjee, in Kolkata on July 17, 2018 (cropped) (cropped).JPG
imagesize200px
altPhoto of Mamata Banerjee
incumbentMamata Banerjee
incumbentsince20 May 2011
insigniacaptionSeal of the State of West Bengal
department
style{{plainlist
typeHead of Government
statusLeader of the Executive
abbreviationCM
member_of
appointerGovernor of West Bengal by convention based on appointees ability to command confidence in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
reportsto* Governor of West Bengal
inauguralPrafulla Chandra Ghosh as Premier
Bidhan Chandra Ray as Chief Minister
formation
residence30-B, Harish Chatterjee Street, Kolkata
seatNabanna, Howrah
precursorPrime Minister of Bengal
termlengthAt the confidence of the assembly
termlength_qualifiedChief Minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.
nominatorMembers of the Government of West Bengal in West Bengal Legislative Assembly
salary*/monthly
website
deputyDeputy Chief Minister (vacant)
  • The Honourable (formal)
  • Madam Chief Minister (informal)
  • Her Excellency (diplomatic)}}
  • West Bengal Legislative Assembly Bidhan Chandra Ray as Chief Minister
  • /annually

The chief minister of West Bengal is the de facto head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is head of the Council of Ministers and appoints ministers. The chief minister, along with their cabinet, exercises executive authority in the state. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly.Chief Minister also serves as Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly.

On 17 August 1947, the British Indian province of Bengal was partitioned into the Pakistani province of East Bengal and the Indian state of West Bengal. Since then West Bengal has had seven chief ministers, starting with Prafulla Chandra Ghosh of the Indian National Congress (INC) party as the premier (elected to lead the assembly while the chief minister is not appointed). Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy in 1950 became the first formal chief minister of West Bengal after the implementation of the Indian Constitution. A period of political instability followed thereafter—West Bengal witnessed three elections, four coalition governments and three stints of President's rule between 1967 and 1972—before Siddhartha Shankar Ray of the INC served a five-year term.

The landslide victory of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front in the 1977 election began Jyoti Basu's 23-year continuous reign as chief minister. The length of his tenure was an all-India record until 2018, when he was surpassed by Sikkim's Pawan Kumar Chamling. Basu's successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharya continued the communist rule in West Bengal for another decade, when the Left Front was defeated in the 2011 election by the Trinamool Congress, thereby ending the 34-year long rule of the Left Front government, a fact that was noted by the international media. Sworn in on 20 May 2011, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee is West Bengal's incumbent chief minister, the first woman to hold the office. She was subsequently voted to power in 2016 and 2021 assembly elections. She is one of the two female incumbent chief ministers in India as of 2024.

Oath as the state chief minister

The chief minister serves five years in the office. The following is the oath of the chief minister of state:

Key

Colour key for parties

longest-serving chief minister.|151x151px]]

List

  • Died in office
  • Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term

Premiers of West Bengal (1947{{ndash}}1950)

#PortraitPremier
(Birth-Death)
ConstituencyElectionTerm of officePolitical partyMinistryFromToPeriod12
Indian National Congress}}"[[File:Prafullachandra Ghosh at Writers' Building in 1947.jpg70px]]Prafulla Chandra Ghosh
(18911983)1946
(Provincial)15 August 194722 January 1948Indian National CongressGhosh
Indian National Congress}}"[[File:Photograph of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal.jpg70px]]Bidhan Chandra Roy
(18821962)23 January 194826 January 1950Roy I

Chief Ministers of West Bengal (1950{{ndash}}present)

#PortraitChief Minister
(Birth-Death)
ConstituencyElectionTerm of officePolitical partyMinistryFromToPeriod1234(3)(3)5678
Indian National Congress}}"[[File:Photograph of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal.jpg70px]]Bidhan Chandra Roy
(18821962)
MLA for Bowbazar, 19521962
MLA for Chowrangee, from 1962
(Provincial)26 January 19501 July 1962Indian National CongressRoy I
1952
(1st)Roy II
1957
(2nd)Roy III
1962
(3rd)Roy IV
Indian National Congress}}"Prafulla Chandra Sen
(18971990)
MLA for Arambagh East2 July 19621 March 1967Sen
Bangla Congress}}"[[File:Ajoy Mukherjee.jpg70px]]Ajoy Mukherjee
(19011986)
MLA for Tamluk1967
(4th)1 March 196721 November 1967Bangla CongressMukherjee I
Independent politician}}"[[File:Prafullachandra Ghosh at Writers' Building in 1947.jpg70px]]Prafulla Chandra Ghosh
(18911983)
MLA for Jhargram21 November 196720 February 1968IndependentGhosh
Position vacant (20 February 196825 February 1969)
President's rule was imposed during this period
Bangla Congress}}"[[File:Ajoy Mukherjee.jpg70px]]Ajoy Mukherjee
(19011986)
MLA for Tamluk1969
(5th)25 February 196919 March 1970Bangla CongressMukherjee II
Position vacant (19 March 19702 April 1971)
President's rule was imposed during this period
Bangla Congress}}"[[File:Ajoy Mukherjee.jpg70px]]Ajoy Mukherjee
(19011986)
MLA for Tamluk1971
(6th)2 April 197129 June 1971Bangla CongressMukherjee III
Position vacant (29 June 197120 March 1972)
President's rule was imposed during this period
Indian National Congress}}"[[File:Siddhartha Shankar Ray.png70px]]Siddhartha Shankar Ray
(19202010)
MLA for Maldah1972
(7th)20 March 197230 April 1977Indian National CongressRay
Position vacant (30 April21 June 1977)
President's rule was imposed during this period
Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"[[File:Jyoti Basu - Calcutta 1996-12-21 089 Cropped.png70px]]Jyoti Basu
(19142010)
MLA for Satgachhia1977
(8th)21 June 19776 November 2000Communist Party of India (Marxist)Basu I
1982
(9th)Basu II
1987
(10th)Basu III
1991
(11th)Basu IV
1996
(12th)Basu V
Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"[[File:Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in 2009.jpg70px]]Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
(19442024)
MLA for Jadavpur6 November 200020 May 2011Bhattacharjee I
2001
(13th)Bhattacharjee II
2006
(14th)Bhattacharjee III
Trinamool Congress}}"[[File:Ms. Mamata Banerjee, in Kolkata on July 17, 2018 (cropped) (cropped).JPG70px]]Mamata Banerjee
(born 1955)
MLA for Bhabanipur2011
(15th)20 May 2011IncumbentTrinamool CongressBanerjee I
2016
(16th)Banerjee II
2021
(17th)Banerjee III

Statistics

No.NamePartyLength of termLongest continuous termTotal years of premiership12345678
Jyoti BasuCommunist Party of India (Marxist)}}"CPI(M)23 years, 137 days23 years, 137 days
Mamata BanerjeeTrinamool Congress}}"TMC********
Bidhan Chandra RoyIndian National Congress}}"INC12 years, 156 days14 years, 159 days
Buddhadeb BhattacharyaCommunist Party of India (Marxist)}}"CPI(M)10 years, 188 days10 years, 188 days
Siddhartha Shankar RayIndian National Congress}}"INC5 years, 41 days5 years, 41 days
Prafulla Chandra SenIndian National Congress}}"INC4 years, 234 days4 years, 234 days
Ajoy Kumar MukherjeeBangla Congress}}"BC / INC1 year, 19 days2 years, 6 days
Prafulla Chandra GhoshIndependent}}"IND / INC160 days250 days

Footnotes

References

References

  1. Arshad Ali. "[https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-may-move-to-new-cms-residence-britishera-bungalow/ Mamata may move to new CM's residence – British-era bungalow]". ''[[The Indian Express]]''. 8 October 2013. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140719074420/http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-may-move-to-new-cms-residence-britishera-bungalow/ Archived] on 19 July 2014.
  2. Shiv Sahay Singh. "[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/mamata-shifts-office-to-nabanna/article5205428.ece Mamata shifts office to Nabanna]". ''[[The Hindu]]''. 6 October 2013. [https://web.archive.org/web/20161221201343/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/mamata-shifts-office-to-nabanna/article5205428.ece Archived] on 21 December 2016.
  3. [[Durga Das Basu]]. ''Introduction to the Constitution of India''. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. {{ISBN. 978-81-8038-559-9. Note: Although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of West Bengal as well.
  4. "Leader of the House - Legislative Assembly - Liferay".
  5. [http://members.tripod.com/~tanmoy/bengal/modern.html Modern Bengal] ''A Short History of Bengal''. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  6. [http://wbassembly.gov.in/origin_growth.aspx Origin and Growth of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly]. West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Retrieved on 27 July 2018.
    Note: In case of an error, please click the "Origin & Growth" button in the top left of the website.
  7. "[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pawan-kumar-chamling-becomes-longest-serving-chief-minister-surpassing-jyoti-basus-record/article23720589.ece Pawan Kumar Chamling crosses Jyoti Basu's record as longest-serving Chief Minister] ". ''The Hindu''. 29 April 2018.[https://web.archive.org/web/20180731131703/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pawan-kumar-chamling-becomes-longest-serving-chief-minister-surpassing-jyoti-basus-record/article23720589.ece Archived] on 31 July 2018.
  8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160312211800/http://wbassembly.gov.in/html/permiChMin.html Premiers/Chief Ministers of West Bengal]. [[West Bengal Legislative Assembly]]. Archive link from 12 March 2016.
  9. Amberish K. Diwanji. "[http://www.rediff.co.in/news/2005/mar/15spec1.htm A dummy's guide to President's rule]". Rediff.com. 15 March 2005.
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