Mamata Banerjee’s political career becomes subject of book 'Decoding Didi'

There are very few women politicians who have made a mark in the arena of politics and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is one of them. Mamata, who was one of India’s youngest parliamentarians in history, founded the All India Trinamool Congress in 1998.

The 63-year-old political leader, fondly called as Didi, served as the union railway minister for two terms, becoming the first woman to do so. Mamata’s political career reached new heights when she registered a monumental victory in 2011 West Bengal Assembly Elections and ended the 34-year-long regime of the left front government in the state.

Mamata’s political career and eventful life has become the subject of a new book title Decoding Didi. The book which is penned by journalist Dola Mitra, will explore the various facets of West Bengal’s chief minister, who is sometimes labelled as a leader of the masses, while at other times eulogized as a mad and waggish dictator.  

 “Very few politicians in India today generate as much interest as does the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee popularly known as ‘Didi’.

“Diminutive yet defiant; unassuming yet arrogant; always volatile, though now increasingly erratic, Didi remains a puzzle. The book is an essential guide to understanding one of the most significant forces in contemporary Indian politics,” publishers Rupa Publications said in a statement.

Decoding Didi will document the days of the elections where the Left regime was toppled, raising hopes for a political change in the state. It will also explore the crushing disappointment of the people at Didi’s failure to bring in a meaningful change.  

The book will throw light on Mamata who has often been criticised for failing to deliver the promise she gave to her constituents.

(With agency inputs)