From an "unknown" ordinary party worker to the Chief Minster of The State

June,1982, an evening, INTUC's(Indian National Trade Union Congress) office-about twenty women were listening to a girl. They were all spell bound by the magic of her dynamic speech. She was a party worker of INTUC's women brunch that day.That's it. There were very few people who knew her full name. Today's Mamta Banerjee was just an unknown party worker.

During the formation of the new brunch of State Congress, a woman candidate required. Mamta's name was recommended- as the general secretory of mahila Congress.. But something was really funny that time everyone used to mistake her surname. Because most of them didn't even know her.

In the year 1983, on the issue of Non-cooperation, Dharmatala become a war field-Lathi charge, Police firing killed about 3 people. The tear gas was in the air. Meanwhile from Bhawanipur sqard, a number of women came out with "Bandemataram" slogan. The leader was "Mamta' herself. Tricolor was in her hand. Some one came to her and said, "Don't go there!You can be killed." She didn't give him a damn. Without caring the tear gas or guns or lathis, she walked forward. That day, the guts and stamina of that woman even stunned the police as well.

She became the youngest parliamentarian  and giantkiller of the party after defeating the veteran Communist leader  Somnath Chatterjee from the Jadavpur Constituency in the year 1984. A very interesting story was behind this. Pranab Mukhejee was distributing election tickets to the candidates in Nizam palace. Suddenly they felt that a woman candidate was needed for the Jadavpur constituency. No one could suggest any name. There was an aged journalist .He suggested her name but he wasn't sure about her surname. So the "surname" section Pranab babu left blank.

 In the year 1989, Lok Sabha elections- She was defeated by CPM (By their weapons-Rigging , booth capturing and other familiar ways). Usually other leaders loose their confidence after such disaster.But she went to the press and bravely said, "Defeat me if you can in a fair way! If you dare! I challenge you!".

 Defeat couldn't break her kind of woman-she proved that. After leaving MP quarter and Delhi, someone asked her-"What next?" She smiled and said, "Lets go to Agra!" Saw Taj Mahal! Enjoyed panipuri and the other street foods. That's the sign of tremendous confidence.  She said, "The war is not over."

In the Rao Government formed in 1991,she was made the Union Minister of the State for Human resource and development, Youth affairs and sports, and Women and children development .As the sports minister, she announced that she would resign, and protested in a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata against Government's indifference towards her proposal to improve sports in the country. Only she could do that! She was discharged of her portfolios in 1993. In April 1996, she alleged that Congress was behaving as a stooge of the CPI-M in West Bengal. She claimed that she was the lone voice of reason and wanted a "clean Congress". In July 1996, she squatted at the well of  Lok Sabha  to protest against the hike in petroleum price, though she was a part of the Government. In that very time she clasped the collar of Amar singh, MP of Samajwadi Party, in the well of the parliament. In February 1997, on the day of railway budget presentation in Lok Sabha, Mamata Banerjee threw her shawl at the railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan for ignoring West Bengal and announced her resignation.

After 2006 Assembly elections Buddhya Dev Bhattacharya said, "We are 235, they are 30. What you can do?"
I hope he has got his answer!