[16] She rose to prominence after opposing the erstwhile land acquisition policies for industrialisation of the Communist-led government in West Bengal for Special Economic Zones at the cost of agriculturalists and farmers at Singur.

[45] In the 1984 general election, Banerjee became one of India's youngest parliamentarians ever,[46] defeating veteran Communist politician Somnath Chatterjee, to win the Jadavpur parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal.

They demanded that voters' ID cards be made the only required document for voting, to put a stop to CPM's "scientific rigging".

On 11 December 1998, she controversially held a Samajwadi Party MP, Daroga Prasad Saroj, by the collar and dragged him out of the well of the Lok Sabha to prevent him from protesting against the Women's Reservation Bill.

She was provoked by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's rejection of her adjournment motion on illegal infiltration by Bangladeshis in West Bengal[72][73][74] on the grounds that it was not in the proper format.

[75][76] On 20 October 2005, she protested against the forceful land acquisition and the atrocities perpetrated against local farmers in the name of the industrial development policy of the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government in West Bengal.

In soaking rain, Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress members stood in front of the Taj Hotel where Santoso had arrived, shut out by the police.

[77][78] Several Olympic and World Championships medal-winning wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta Phogat, have been protesting in Delhi demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh for allegedly sexually harassing several women wrestlers and a minor.

[82] After this incident the Trinamool Congress MLAs protested by damaging furniture and microphones and vandalising the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Building.

[84][85][86][87] In 2016 the Supreme Court declared that the acquisition of 997 acres of land by West Bengal's Left Front government for the Tata Motors plant in Singur was illegal.

[88] In 2007 a battalion of armed police stormed the rural area of Nandigram in the district of Purba Medinipur with the aim of quashing protests against the West Bengal government's plans to expropriate 10,000 acres (40 km2) of land for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be developed by the Indonesian-based Salim Group.

"[98][99] There are allegations of involvement of some local TMC leaders in the Nandigram Violence[100][101][102] Before the 2009 parliamentary elections she allied with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Indian National Congress.

Its allies in Congress and SUCI also won six and one seats respectively marking the best performance by any opposition party in West Bengal since the beginning of the Left's regime.

[115] Reuters reported that "Her two-year record as railway minister has been heavily criticized for running the network into more debt to pay for populist measures such as more passenger trains.

[117] In 2011, the All India Trinamool Congress along with SUCI and the INC won the West Bengal legislative assembly election against the incumbent Left Alliance by securing 227 seats.

"[125] On 30 April 2015, a representative of UNICEF India congratulated the government for making Nadia the first Open Defecation Free district in the country.

[129] In a bid to improve the law and enforcement situation in West Bengal, police commissioners were created at Howrah, Barrackpore, Durgapur-Asansol and Bidhannagar.

[131] Mamata Banerjee has been criticised for starting controversial stipends to imams (Iman Bhatta)[132][133][134] which was ruled unconstitutional by Calcutta High Court.

[138] In June 2012, she launched a Facebook page to rally and gather public support for A.P.J Abdul Kalam, her party's choice for the presidential elections.

[144] All India Trinamool Congress won with an enhanced majority contesting alone and became the first ruling party to win without an ally since 1962 in West Bengal.

If Mamata remains in office at least till 26 October 2025, she would become the second-longest-serving Chief Minister after Jyoti Basu, superseding Bidhan Chandra Roy.

[158][159][160][161][162] During her tenure she challenged the federal system of India when she ordered the arrest of CBI officials, who arrived in Kolkata to investigate the Saradha Group financial scandal.

[164] Mamata Banerjee and her government has been accused of "Muslim appeasement" several times by different groups of people including the opposition political parties.

[185] Banerjee was widely[186] criticised for the rape and murder of a young trainee doctor at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital and alleged coverup[187][188] where she was accused[189][190] of trying to protect the now ex principal Sandip Ghosh[191] [192]whose involvement in the incident is being investigated by the CBI.

[193] In February 2024, several women in Sandeshkhali village came forward saying that Trinamool Congress local bloc leader and alleged strongmen Sheikh Shahjahan, Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra had been sexually assaulting and raping them.

Mamata Bannerjee was accused by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders for keeping silence on the crime and protecting such criminal politicians.

[198] Throughout her political life, Banerjee has maintained a publicly austere lifestyle, dressing in simple traditional Bengali clothes and avoiding luxuries.

[199][200] During an interview in April 2019, Prime minister Narendra Modi claimed that despite their political differences, Banerjee sends her own selected kurtas and sweets to him every year.

[212][213][214][215][216] While appealing for maintaining religious harmony, Banerjee has reiterated the fact on numerous occasions that "Religion is personal, but festivals are universal.

"[217][218] "She has always been a fighter" said Yashwant Sinha while disclosing that Mamata had offered to be a hostage as part of a negotiation strategy during the Kandahar hijacking crisis.