THE ASIAN AGE. Aggressive, fearless, outspoken, Mamata’s rise in Congress was rapid.Her supporters say, “no corruption charges sticks to her”. Perpetually dressed in a simple white handloom sari and rubber chappals, Mamata, like the Pied Piper is leading the parties, which could possibly come together to form the federal front during the 2019 general elections.. In 1997, she walked out of the party form the Trinamul Congress, which eventually “freed” Bengal from nearly 37 years of Left rule. She’s a threat, one that even the all powerful and charismatic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not willing to take lightly.  

Some say like Modi, Mamata Banerjee has the skill and ability to go for the jugular. She remained general secretary of Mahila Congress from 1976 to 1980 and in the 1984 general elections, she emerged as the “giant slayer”, defeating one China silicone rubber Manufacturers of the CPI(M)’s tallest leaders former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee from the Jadavpur Constituency. Yet all three have had  Prime Ministerial ambitions. She was dropped from the Narasimha Rao Cabinet in 1996 for accusing the state Congress of behaving like a “stooge” of the CPI(M).Mamata grew up in a lower class middle family and according to reports, her father, Promileswar Banerjee died due to lack of medical treatment when she was only 17. On August 6, 1990 when Mamata was leading a Congress procession, the CPI(M) goons attacked her and a lathi-wielding Lallu Alam dealt a near fatal blow to her head.Today Mamata has edged past Mayawati and is fast emerging as the face of the anti-BJP and anti-Congress forces.


Unlike Tamil Nadu’s “amma”, Bengal’s “didi” is not a reluctant politician.R. While studying at Jogamaya College, she established Chhatra Parishad (Congress’ students’ wing in Bengal) by defeating the Socialist Unity Centre of India’s students’ wing, Democratic Students’ Union.Like Mayawati and Jayalalithaa, Mamata too has had a love-hate relationship with the BJP. Like Modi, she has the tenacity, she connects to the crowd and takes her opponent head on without mincing words. She has set in motion her game plan. She’s inflexible and uncompromising. Jayalalitha was assaulted and pushed down from the gun carriage carrying MGR’s body during the funeral procession and was manhandled by the DMK members in Tamil Nadu Assembly. Like Jayalalithaa, she too had been the reason behind the fall of the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA government. During the same elections, Mayawati voiced her ambitions and told her vote bank that if they voted intelligently, “dalit ki beti could also be the PM”., Mamata Banerjee embraced politics. Jayalalithaa was “pushed” into the films by her mother and then into politics by her mentor, M. All three were once part of the BJP-led NDA. Both Mamata and Jayaalalithaa fought their way to the top.

Mamata is trying to bring together parties to form the federal front in the 2019 general elections. If J. George (Tamil Nadu’s legislative assembly) to Red Fort” was the slogan of AIADMK during 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Mamata survived a brutal attack by a former CPI(M) functionary, Lallu Alam. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressing the media on "One Month completion of demonetisation" in Kolkata.Mamata, who decimated the Left and demolished her parent outfit — the Congress in West Bengal, started her political career in her college days.G. Master of confrontational politics, Mamata has hedged her bets on the economy hit hard by the demonetisation move of the Modi sarkar.Electorally none of these “power puff girls” have been able to make a mark outside their states. In the next two years, Mamata might not be able to retain the momentum, but with her moves of leading the Opposition, advising and devising a strategy she has certainly emerged as a face BJP would like to forget.She lost in 1989 but was back from Kolkata South Constituency during the 1991 general elections and retained the berth till 2009 general elections, following which she took over power in Bengal. Mamata survived the death blow, Jayalalitha survived the humiliation and both rose like phoenix from the ashes, crushed their political rivals, took charge of the state and stormed into national politics.