Decoding Didi: Making Sense of Mamata Banerjee

From being eulogized as a leader of the masses to being pilloried as a whimsical dictator, Mamata Banerjee remains an enigma. Few politicians in India today generate as much interest as the chief minister of West Bengal, popularly known as Didi.

Diminutive yet defiant, unassuming yet combative, Mamata Banerjee has long puzzled supporters and critics alike. In 2011, she achieved what many believed impossible: ending the thirty-four-year rule of the Left Front in West Bengal with a promise of a brighter future for the state.

Her rise to power has been studied at prestigious universities such as Harvard and Cambridge. Yet the same leader has also faced sharp criticism from political opponents, former supporters, civil society and the public for failing to deliver the change many had hoped for.

Decoding Didi explores the phenomenon that is Mamata Banerjee. Chronicling her extraordinary life and political journey, the book recounts the electrifying election that toppled the Left regime, the surge of hope it inspired and the disappointment that followed when meaningful change proved elusive. Clear-eyed and incisive, it offers an essential guide to understanding one of the most influential figures in contemporary Indian politics.

Dola Mitra is a special correspondent at Outlook magazine. She lives in Kolkata.