Team Didi

The party won 19 seats and ended the Lefts run in the state,reducing its tally from 35 in 2004 to 15.

Among the TMCs newly elected MPs are seasoned lawyers whose oratory skills came in handy for campaigning,three doctors who have successful practices in Kolkata,actors who have ruled Bengali cinema and a musician whose songs speak of revolution. There is also a father-son duo and a founder-member of the TMC who had parted ways with the party,only to return. But elections over,the real challenge for Mamata lies in leading such a varied group

Shatabdi roy,40

She came,she contested,she won. When Shatabdi Roy made her electoral debut this year,contesting from the Left bastion of Birbhum,not everyone gave her a chance. But she won. Shes new to politics but has loads of experience in the film industry. She started off as an actor and later evolved into a director and acting-teacher. Roy has also dabbled in Bengali poetry. Back in 1986,Roy won accolades for her role in the Tapan Sinha thriller Atanka.

Kabir Suman,59

He is one of the finest orators in Mamatas pack. Firebrand Kabir Suman,who joined the party full-time during the Nandigram and Singur stir,pulled off a coup of sorts,trouncing CPIM strongman Sujan Chakraborty in Jadavpur. He has also been a journalist and has worked with the Voice of America in Washington DC. But the Suman that Bengal knows is the singer who appeared on the scene in the mid-1990s. He has composed and sung over 400 songshis albums were sellouts and he has also acted in critically acclaimed films.

Kalyan Banerjee,52

The legal hawk in Mamatas team won from the Srirampur constituency with a margin of 1,37,000 votes. Banerjee,a well-known advocate in the Calcutta High Court,has been practising since 1981. Ever since he became a senior advocate in 2004,he has been active in the legal circuit. He was actively involved in a number of cases concerning Nandigram,Singur and even the Rizwanur Rahman case. He loyally and whole-heartedly stood by Mamata during her toughest agitations in Nandigram and Singur.

Choudhury Mohan Jatua,71

The retired IPS officer and former MLA is one of Mamatas close associates. He stepped down from the post of Saho Sabhapati of the South 24-Parganas Zilla Parishad to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Mathurapur and won by a huge margin of 1,25,892 votes. Jatua,who has served as police superintendent in restive Bankura,brings to the party plenty of experience in handling administrative matters in sensitive areas.

Sisir Adhikary,69

The seasoned grassroots politician had two reasons to celebrate. In these Lok Sabha polls,he won and so did his son Suvendu. Sisir,who has been the Contai Municipalitys chairman for 26 years,was also an MLA from South Contai for a decade before taking the Lok Sabha plunge. His biggest contribution has been his role in effecting the turnaround results in the Panchayat polls in East Midnapore,traditionally a CPIM stronghold.

Dinesh Trivedi,59

In Mamatas core team,Trivedi has been in the Rajya Sabha twice and has also served as the general secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress AITC. Said to be influential in Delhi,he has close connections with top national leaders.

A commercial pilot with an MBA degree from Texas University,he brings to the party his varied experiencehes also the chairman of the Indo-European Union Parliamentary Forum. He won from Barrackpore,a CPIM stronghold,by 55,861 votes.

Tapas Pal,51

With a career spanning 26 years and 300 films,Tollywood actor Tapas Pal brings star appeal to the Trinamool Congress. Pal has been a part of Mamatas team since 2000,ever since he became an MLA on a Trinamool ticket from Alipore. Riding on the popularity wave,he won again in 2006. He has been as successful in politics as he had been in films. His debut film in 1980,Dadar Kirti,was a hit and he went on to win the Filmfare Award for his role in Saheb. In his political career too,Pal has continued to draw crowds. He won from Krishnanagar by 77,386 votes.

Suvendu Adhikary,39

Hes being called the giant-killer in Bengal politics after his victory over CPIM bigwig Lakshman Seth in Tamluk. His political career began in 1995,when he became a councillor from Contai Municipality. Three years later,he was inducted into the Pradesh Congress Committee in the state. He rose fast,becoming a member of Midnapore districts planning commission. He was made director of the Contai Co-operative Bank and in 2005,was re-elected councillor of Contai Municipality.

Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar,50

One of three doctors in the Mamata camp,Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar won from the Barasat constituency. The Mahila Trinamool Congress president and former MLA leads the partys women brigade. An ultrasonology specialist,Dastidar has been involved in politics for a while. She began her medical career with RG Kar Medical College and went on to study at Kings College in London. It remains to be seen if Mamatas trusted ally will deliver what appears to be a tall promiseto set up super-specialty hospitals in all seven assembly segments in Barasat.

Dr Ratna Dey Nag,57

Nag,who belongs to a prominent Congress family,defeated seven-time MP and CPIM heavyweight Rupchand Pal. A child specialist who worked at the Srirampore Walsh Hospital for a while,Nag is the daughter of popular leader Gopal Das Nag,a minister in the Siddhartha Shankar Ray cabinet.

Ambica Banerjee,82

The industrialist may have raised a few eyebrows when he declared his assets to be worth Rs 6 crore but the former Congress MLA brings his vast experience to the party. A senior member of the Cricket Association of Bengal CAB who is known to be close to former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya,he has been involved closely with the Kolkata Maidans sports affairs. Banerjee won by a margin of 38,892 votes from the CPIM stronghold of Howrah.

Dr Sucharu Haldar,69

A skin specialist who has been associated with the Army Medical Corps since 1964,Haldar has been teaching at Pune University. Hes one of the political novices Trinamool fielded in Election 2009he joined the party just before electionsand came out a winner from Ranaghat,defeating his opponent by 1,01,665 votes.

Somen Mitra,66

The former Congress state president is now Mamatas chief adviser on issues related to national politics. A law graduate who held a number of portfolios with the Congress,he created a flutter last year by dumping the party and floating a new onethe Progressive Indira Congress. He abandoned that too and jumped onto the TMC bandwagon,contested elections and won by 1,51,689 votes from Diamond Harbour.

Saugata Roy,63

He staved off the challenge from CPIMs Amitava Nandy in the Dum Dum constituency in a keenly-fought contest. A veteran politician,he is a key member of Mamatas team. A former professor,the former Congress leader became MP from Barrackpore back in 1977 and was later elected MLA from Alipore in 1987,1991 and 1996. He was also Union minister in 1979. Roy is a good speaker and his academic background is often reflected in his deliberations.

Gobinda Chandra Naskar,70

Another veteran politician in Mamatas party,he was a minister in Ajay Mukherjees cabinet in 1971. The 67-year-old TMC candidate is a resident of Canning,and was MLA in 1971,1972,1987 and 2001. He won by a margin of 93,826 votes in the Bongaon constituency.

Haji Nurul Islam,49

A small-time zari businessman and resident of Chhoto Jagulia village in Barasat,Islam is a grassroots Trinamool worker and has been the leader of the Opposition in the North 24-Parganas Zilla Parishad. He may not be a popular name in state politics,but he won with a margin of 60,149 votes from Bashirhat.

Sultan Ahmed,56

The Mohammedan Sporting Club honcho won from Uluberia. A central-Kolkata-based politician,the outspoken Ahmed was with the Congress as general secretary and then as a member of the AICC for 20 years before switching over to the TMC. He has been a councillor with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and was elected twice as MLA from Entally in 1987 and 1996. President of the All India Trinamool Minority Congress,he is a well-known figure in Kolkatas sports community.

Sudip Bandopadhyay,57

He won from Kolkata North by 1,23,479 votes,slaying CPIM heavyweight Muhammed Seli. The former MP and MLA was founder-member of the Trinamool Congress. In between,he had fallen out with Mamata and had jumped over to the Congress,only to return to the TMC. He began his political career when he was picked as the president of the West Bengal Youth Congress in 1972.