Chief Minister of West Bengal
পশ্চিমবঙ্গের মুখ্যমন্ত্রী
Emblem of West Bengal
Flag of India
Mamata Banerjee
Incumbent
Mamata Banerjee (Outgoing)
since 20 May 2011
  • Chief Minister's Office
  • Government of West Bengal
Style
  • The Honourable (formal)
Type Head of government
Status Leader of the Executive
Abbreviation CMoWB
Member of
  • State Cabinet
  • Legislative Assembly
Reports to
  • Governor of West Bengal
  • West Bengal Legislative Assembly
Residence 30-B, Harish Chatterjee Street, Kolkata[1]
Seat Nabanna, Howrah[a]
Nominator MLAs of the majority party or alliance
Appointer Governor of West Bengal
by convention based on appointees ability to command confidence in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
Term length At the confidence of the assembly
Chief Minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.[3]
Precursor Prime Minister of Bengal
Inaugural holder Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (as Premier)
Bidhan Chandra Ray (as Chief Minister)
Formation 15 August 1947
(78 years ago) (1947-08-15)
Deputy Deputy Chief Minister (vacant)
Salary
  • ₹117,000 (US$1,200)/monthly
  • ₹1,404,000 (US$15,000)/annually
Website CMO West Bengal

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 the head of the Council of Ministers and advises the governor on the appointment of ministers. Along with the council of ministers, the chief minister exercises executive authority in the state. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The chief minister also serves as the Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly.[4]

On 17 August 1947, the former 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 eight chief ministers. Prafulla Chandra Ghosh of the Indian National Congress (INC) became the state's first head of government as premier before the office of chief minister formally came into effect.[5] Following the adoption of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy became the first chief minister of West Bengal. A period of political instability followed between 1967 and 1972, during which the state witnessed three assembly elections, four coalition governments and three periods of President's rule.[6] Siddhartha Shankar Ray of the INC subsequently became the first chief minister after this phase to complete a full five-year term.


The victory of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front in the 1977 assembly election marked the beginning of 34 years of Left Front rule in West Bengal. Jyoti Basu served continuously as chief minister for over 23 years, the longest uninterrupted tenure by any chief minister in India at the time. His record was surpassed in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim.[7] Basu was succeeded by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, under whom the Left Front remained in power until 2011.


In the 2011 assembly election, the Trinamool Congress defeated the Left Front, ending its 34-year rule in the state, one of the longest-serving democratically elected communist governments in the world. The party's leader, Mamata Banerjee, was sworn in on 20 May 2011 as the first woman chief minister of West Bengal. She was subsequently re-elected in the 2016 and 2021 assembly elections.


In the 2026 assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a majority in the legislative assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year tenure in government. The new chief minister is expected to take oath on 9 May 2026, although the leader of the legislature party has not yet been officially announced.[8]

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:

I, <Name of the Chief Minister>, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as a Minister for the State of () and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

photo of Writers' Building
Writers' Building, an 18th-century Company-era construction in Kolkata, traditionally served as the office of West Bengal's chief minister.

Premiers of West Bengal (1947–1950)

# Portrait Name Tenure[9] Assembly
(election)		 Appointed

by

(Governor)

 Party
1 photo of Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Prafulla Chandra Ghosh 15 August 1947 22 January 1948 160 days Provincial Assembly

(1946–52)[b]
(1946 election)

 C. Rajagopalachari Indian National Congress
2 Bidhan Chandra Roy 23 January 1948 26 January 1950 2 years, 3 days

Chief Ministers of West Bengal (1950–present)

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

[c]

#[d] Portrait Chief Minister
Constituency		 Election Tenure[e] Political party Ministry
From To Period
1 Bidhan Chandra Roy [†]

(1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962)
MLA for Bowbazar (1952–1962)
MLA for Chowrangee (1962)

 Provincial[f]
(1946 election)		 26 January 1950 30 March 1952 12 years, 156 days Indian National Congress Roy I
1952
(1st election)		 31 March 1952 5 April 1957 Roy II
1957
(2nd election)		 6 April 1957 2 April 1962 Roy III
1962
(3rd election)		 3 April 1962 1 July 1962 [†] Roy IV
2 Prafulla Chandra Sen

(10 April 1897 – 25 September 1990)

MLA for Arambagh East

 2 July 1962 1 March 1967 4 years, 242 days Sen
3 Ajoy Mukherjee [§]

(15 April 1901 – 27 December 1986)
MLA for Tamluk

 1967
(4th election)		 1 March 1967 21 November 1967 265 days Bangla Congress Mukherjee I
4 Prafulla Chandra Ghosh

(24 December 1891 – 18 December 1983)
MLA for Jhargram

 21 November 1967 20 February 1968 91 days Independent Ghosh
Position vacant (20 February 1968 – 25 February 1969)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
Period: 1 year, 5 days
(3) Ajoy Mukherjee [§]

(15 April 1901 – 27 December 1986)
MLA for Tamluk

 1969
(5th election)		 25 February 1969 19 March 1970 1 year, 22 days Bangla Congress Mukherjee II
Position vacant (19 March 1970 – 2 April 1971)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
Period: 1 year, 14 days
(3) Ajoy Mukherjee

(15 April 1901 – 27 December 1986)
MLA for Tamluk

 1971
(6th election)		 2 April 1971 29 June 1971 88 days Indian National Congress Mukherjee III
Position vacant (29 June 1971 – 20 March 1972)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
Period: 265 days
5 Siddhartha Shankar Ray

(20 October 1920 – 6 November 2010)
MLA for Maldah

 1972
(7th election)		 20 March 1972 30 April 1977 5 years, 41 days Indian National Congress Ray
Position vacant (30 April 1977 – 21 June 1977)
President's rule was imposed during this period[c]
Period: 52 days
6 Jyoti Basu

(8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010)
MLA for Satgachhia

 1977
(8th election)		 21 June 1977 23 May 1982 23 years, 138 days Communist Party of India (Marxist) Basu I
1982
(9th election)		 24 May 1982 29 March 1987 Basu II
1987
(10th election)		 30 March 1987 18 June 1991 Basu III
1991
(11th election)		 19 June 1991 15 May 1996 Basu IV
1996
(12th election)		 16 May 1996 6 November 2000 Basu V
7 Buddhadeb Bhattacharya

(1 March 1944 – 8 August 2024)
MLA for Jadavpur

 6 November 2000 14 May 2001 10 years, 195 days Bhattacharjee I
2001
(13th election)		 15 May 2001 17 May 2006 Bhattacharjee II
2006
(14th election)		 18 May 2006 20 May 2011 Bhattacharjee III
8 Mamata Banerjee

(born 5 January 1955)
MLA for Bhabanipur

 2011
(15th election)		 20 May 2011 25 May 2016 14 years, 352 days All India Trinamool Congress Banerjee I
2016
(16th election)		 26 May 2016 4 May 2021 Banerjee II
2021
(17th election)		 5 May 2021 Incumbent Banerjee III

Statistics

Fraction of time of holding CMO by party in West Bengal (as of 9 May 2026)
  1. Communist Party of India (Marxist) (44.7%)
  2. Indian National Congress (32.8%)
  3. Trinamool Congress (19.8%)
  4. Bangla Congress (2.36%)
  5. Bharatiya Janata Party (0.00%)
  6. Independent (0.33%)

[g]


Timeline Of Chief Minister

# Name Party Length of term
Longest tenure Total tenure
1 Jyoti Basu CPI(M) 23 years, 138 days 23 years, 138 days
2 Mamata Banerjee TMC 14 years, 354 days 14 years, 354 days
3 Bidhan Chandra Roy INC 12 years, 156 days 14 years, 159 days
4 Buddhadeb Bhattacharya CPI(M) 10 years, 195 days 10 years, 195 days
5 Siddhartha Shankar Ray INC 5 years, 41 days 5 years, 41 days
6 Prafulla Chandra Sen INC 4 years, 242 days 4 years, 242 days
7 Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee BC / INC 1 year, 19 days 2 years, 6 days
8 Prafulla Chandra Ghosh IND / INC 160 days 250 days
9 BJP −2 days −2 days

[g]

Party-wise tenure over years

Party Total tenure Percentage
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 33 years, 333 days 44.74%
Indian National Congress 24 years, 325 days 32.84%
Trinamool Congress 14 years, 354 days 19.75%
Bangla Congress 1 years, 287 days 2.36%
Independent 91 days 0.33%
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 days 0%

[g]

See also

  • List of governors of West Bengal
  • List of rulers of Bengal
  • Prime Minister of Bengal
  • Elections in West Bengal
  • History of West Bengal
  • West Bengal Legislative Assembly
  • List of deputy chief ministers of West Bengal

Footnotes

  1. ^ Since October 2013 Chief Minister Banerjee has worked from the top floor of the newly constructed Nabanna building in Howrah, while Writers' Building undergoes renovation.[2]
  2. ^ This refers to the 90-member rump legislature that emerged following partition, representing the West Bengali constituencies of the erstwhile Bengal Legislative Assembly. It was constituted under the Government of India Act 1935, not the Indian Constitution, which was still in the process of being drafted.[6]
  3. ^ a b c d e Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, President's rule may be imposed when the government of a state cannot function as per the Constitution. During this time, the council of ministers is dissolved and the governor administers the state.
  4. ^ A number in parentheses indicates that the incumbent has previously held office.
  5. ^ While the tenures have been primarily sourced to a list on the West Bengal Legislative Assembly website,[9] obvious errors (mainly around the 1969–71 period) have been corrected with the help of a historical essay from the same website.[6]
  6. ^ Following the promulgation of the Constitution of India, the provincial assembly carried on as the legislative assembly of West Bengal until fresh elections could be organised in 1952.[6]
  7. ^ a b c
    • Total period considered is from 15 August 1947 to 9 May 2026.
    • Durations are calculated proportionally from percentage share and expressed in years and days.
    • Figures are rounded to the nearest day.

References

  1. ^ Arshad Ali. "Mamata may move to new CM's residence – British-era bungalow". The Indian Express. 8 October 2013. Archived on 19 July 2014.
  2. ^ Shiv Sahay Singh. "Mamata shifts office to Nabanna". The Hindu. 6 October 2013. 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".
  5. ^ Modern Bengal A Short History of Bengal. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d 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. ^ "Pawan Kumar Chamling crosses Jyoti Basu's record as longest-serving Chief Minister". The Hindu. 29 April 2018.Archived on 31 July 2018.
  8. ^ "New West Bengal CM to take oath on May 9, says state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya". The Times of India. 6 May 2026. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  9. ^ a b Premiers/Chief Ministers of West Bengal. West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Archive link from 12 March 2016.

Further reading

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