Didi’s 10: The woman brigade in Mamata’s army as she seeks a fourth term in Bengal

Within the party, she has a strong chain of women leaders, from booth level to elected positions. Women are also at the forefront of the TMC’s key agitations, be it Singur or Nandigram, and have cornered up to 40% of the tickets in elections, highest by far among major parties.

Now, as Mamata, the only woman leader in the country with complete control over her party and government, seeks a fourth term in power, it’s with a core group of women leaders around her – from the streets of Kolkata to the power corridors of Delhi:

Chandrima Bhattacharya, 70

Bhattacharya, a TMC spokesperson and the state president of its women’s wing, is among the seniormost members of the CM’s women’s brigade. As Minister of State in the Mamata government, Bhattacharya holds varied portfolios, from Finance (Independent Charge) and Health, Family Welfare to Land Reforms, and Refugee and Rehabilitation.

Bhattacharya was not among the early followers of Mamata, staying back in the Congress when she formed the TMC. It was only in 2009, during the Singur and Nandigram movements which provided Mamata the momentum to dislodge the CPI(M) in Bengal, that Bhattacharya grew close to her and eventually joined the TMC.

A trained lawyer, Bhattacharya practised as an advocate in the Kolkata High Court till after she contested and won from Dum Dum Uttar as an MLA in 2011.

In 2016, Bhattacharya lost to the CPI(M)’s Tanmay Bhattacharya from the seat. But, in a sign of Mamata’s trust in her, she fielded Bhattacharya from Dakshin Kanthi in a 2017 bypoll. When she won, Mamata reinducted her as MoS.

Shashi Panja (63)

A doctor by training, Panja is the daughter-in-law of one-time Union minister Ajit Panja, who had split from the Congress and founded the TMC with Mamata.

When the TMC first formed the government in 2011, Mamata didn’t consider the MLA from Shyampukur for a ministry. But, in 2013, Panja was given responsibility of the Women and Child Development Department as MoS. This proved critical as Panja steered Mamata’s pet ‘Kanyashree’.

In the outgoing government, she is Minister for Industries, Commerce and Enterprises as well as in-charge of the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare.

Party insiders say Mamata appreciates Panja’s felicity with both English and Bengali, making her one of the TMC’s top spokespersons.

Panja is contesting from Shyampukur again.

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, 66

An MP from Barasat, Dastidar also belongs to a political family and is a doctor by training like Panja. Her maternal grandfather was the Postmaster General of West Bengal, her paternal uncle Arun Moitra headed the state Congress chief at one time, while her maternal uncle Gurudas Dasgupta was an MP and a well-known CPI face.

One of Mamata’s oldest confidantes, Dastidar used to be among the first by her side with medical assistance during her violent confrontations with the Left government when in the Youth Congress – and followed her out to form the TMC in 1998.

A four-time MP, Dastidar has faced several controversies. Her name came up in the Narada case, while her remark that the Park Street sexual assault “did not involve rape” but “a misunderstanding between a woman and her client” had raised a storm.

Dola Sen, 59

Once one of Mamata’s main backroom lieutenants, the Rajya Sabha MP is now a public face beside the CM.

Sen first came to notice as a trade union leader at Kanoria Jute Mill, with Naxal sympathies. It was this affiliation that brought her close to Mamata during the Singur and Nandigram movements, and she impressed the TMC chief by drawing national faces such as Medha Patkar and Left intellectuals to her cause.

Later, as other associates moved away, Sen joined the TMC. She now heads its Bengal chapter.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, when Mamata faced a prestige fight with arch rival Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram, she deployed Sen to oversee her campaign. Mamata lost, but Sen’s efforts were appreciated.

Sen fought and lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Asansol, but soon after, was sent by the TMC to the Rajya Sabha and remains one of the party’s important voices in the Upper House.

Birbaha Hansda, 43

A familiar face in the Santhali film industry, Hansda comes from a political family, with both her parents former MLAs.

She was first elected to the Assembly in 2021 after three electoral losses – across municipal, Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. But soon as she won, Mamata inducted her as MoS, Forests.

Hansda’s film career has been pretty successful, with 19 known films, including super-hit Bardu, and seven best actress awards from the ‘All India Santhali Film Association’.

Recently, Hansda was at the forefront of TMC protests over President Draupadi Murmu’s claim that she had been snubbed by the Mamata government during a visit to North Bengal.

Hansda is contesting from Binpur seat.

Lata Banerjee, 59-60

The mother of TMC No. 2 Abhishek Banerjee, Lata is Mamata’s trusted “boudi” or sister-in-law (the wife of Mamata’s brother Amit). A veteran TMC leader says: “Even when Mamata stayed at home with her mother, Lata was by her side.”

Since then, Lata has been a constant presence at every stage of Mamata’s political life, from when she was the Union Minister of Railways to when she became CM. Recently, Lata accompanied Mamata on her foreign visit.

During its investigation into the school jobs scam in Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate summoned Lata along with husband Amit, among others, for questioning. The couple are directors in Leaps & Bounds, a company under the ED’s scanner.

Krishna Chakraborty, 61

The association of Chakraborty with Mamata goes back four decades, to 1984, when the then Youth Congress leader handpicked her from New Alipore College.

The same year, when the Congress fielded Mamata for the time as a Lok Sabha candidate, from Jadavpur against CPI(M) heavyweight Somnath Chatterjee, Chakraborty was by her side at every campaign event. When Mamata won and moved to Delhi, Chakraborty also moved, and stayed with her for the next five years.

When Chakraborty got married, Mamata was present. And when Chakraborty was expecting, she stayed with Mamata. Chakraborty has often described their relations as that of a mother and daughter.

In 1998, when Mamata formed the TMC, Chakraborty held no official position. Now she is vice-chairman of the TMC women’s wing, Chairman of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, and the person next to Mamata at any political rally.

Chakraborty’s husband Samir is the TMC candidate from Pandua in Hooghly district.

Mahua Moitra, 51

Moitra is as different a politician from Mamata as it goes. She is also Mamata’s Delhi voice, punching well above her weight.

An investment banker with stints abroad, Moitra was brought into the Congress by Rahul Gandhi, but quickly moved to the TMC. In 2016, she became an MLA, winning from Karimpur in Nadia. However, Mamata realised that her skills fit in well with Delhi and she was fielded from the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat in 2019, and won.

Not long after, Moitra gave her “seven early signs of fascism” speech in Parliament, not ceding her ground in the face of constant heckling. She has since remained one of the prominent Opposition voices in a House dominated overwhelmingly by the BJP. Moitra has also taken on the government in the Supreme Court over issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

On December 8, 2023, Moitra was expelled from Parliament in an alleged ‘cash-for-query’ case. But in 2024, the TMC fielded her again from Krishnanagar, and she returned as an MP.

Moitra’s drawback has been her propensity to invite controversy – including a period of strain when Mamata snubbed her over her alleged misbehaviour with partymen, and a very public spat with fellow TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee.

However, Moitra continues to stand tall.

Sagarika Ghose, 61; Menaka Guruswamy, 51

The two Rajya Sabha MPs are the rising faces of the TMC in Delhi, chosen by Mamata for the credentials they bring to the table. While Ghose is a former journalist and a known media face, Guruswamy is a prominent Supreme Court lawyer with a legacy of defending civil rights.

Both were part of the TMC’s most recent meeting with the Election Commission of India (ECI), which descended into a war of words between the two sides.

While Ghose made the switch to politics and joined the Rajya Sabha in 2024, Guruswamy was sworn in only this week. Incidentally, while she was still a journalist, Ghose had a showdown with Mamata on live TV during a discussion, with the CM storming out of the show.