The Chief Minister of West Bengal is the representative of the
Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and the head of the executive branch of the
Government of West Bengal
The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...
. 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
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...
are
collectively responsible to the assembly.
On 17 August 1947, the
British Indian
British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...
province of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
was
partitioned into the Pakistani province of
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = Ea ...
and the Indian state of West Bengal. Since then West Bengal has had eight chief ministers, starting with
Prafulla Chandra Ghosh
Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (24 December 1891 – 18 December 1983) was the first Premier of West Bengal, India from 15 August 1947 to 14 August 1948. He also served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal in the "Progressive Democratic Alliance Fr ...
of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
(INC) party as the premier. A period of political instability followed—West Bengal witnessed three elections, four coalition governments and three stints of
President's rule
In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Union government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional ...
between 1967 and 1972—before
Siddhartha Shankar Ray of the INC served a five-year term.
[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.
The landslide victory of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...
-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
Pawan Kumar Chamling (born 22 September 1949) is an Indian politician and the former Chief Minister of Sikkim. Chamling is the Founding President of the Sikkim Democratic Front, which governed the state for five successive terms since 1994.
C ...
.
[Pawan Kumar Chamling crosses Jyoti Basu’s record as longest-serving Chief Minister]
". ''The Hindu''. 29 April 201
Archived
on 31 July 2018. Basu's successor
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also known as Buddha Babu (born 1 March 1944) is an Indian Communist politician and a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 200 ...
continued Communist rule in West Bengal for another decade, when the Left Front was defeated in the
2011 election by the
All India Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
. Sworn in on 20 May 2011, Trinamool leader
Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served many times as a ...
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. Mamata Banerjee's TMC got a landslide win in 2021 assembly elections, securing 215 assembly seats out of 292.
Key
Premiers of West Bengal (1947–50)
Chief Ministers of West Bengal (1950–present)
Statistics
;List of Chief Ministers by length of term
Political parties by total time-span of their member holding CMO ( )
See also
*
List of deputy chief ministers of West Bengal
*
List of Governors of West Bengal
*
List of rulers of Bengal
*
Prime Minister of Bengal
The Prime Minister of Bengal was the head of government of Bengal Province and the Leader of the House in the Bengal Legislative Assembly in British India. The position was dissolved upon the Partition of Bengal in 1947.
History
The office was ...
Footnotes
References
Further reading
Left Front Government of Bengal: A Saga of Struggle – a political history of West Bengal from the CPI(M)'s point of view
{{West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
Chief Ministers
West Bengal politics-related lists