List of chief Ministers of West Bengal - wikipedia List of chief Ministers of West Bengal Chief Minister of West Bengal Incumbent Mamata Banerjee since 20 May 2011 Seat Nabanna, Shibpur, Howrah Appointer Governor of West Bengal Inaugural holder Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Formation 15 August 1947 ( as Premier of West Bengal ) The Chief Minister of West Bengal is the chief executive of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state 's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the state 's governor usually invites the party ( or coalition ) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister 's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits. West Bengal origins lie in Bengal, a province of the British Raj that included present - day Bangladesh. Between 1937 and 1947 it was intermittently governed by a popularly elected ministry, whose head is often designated the Premier of Bengal. In 1947, Bengal province was partitioned into the Indian state of West Bengal and East Pakistan. All three erstwhile Bengal premiers -- A.K. Fazlul Huq, Khawaja Nazimuddin and H.S. Suhrawardy -- became Pakistani citizens ; the latter two went on to become Prime Ministers of Pakistan in the 1950s. Since 1947, there have been eight Chief Ministers of West Bengal. The first was Prafulla Chandra Ghosh of the Indian National Congress, who was succeeded by his party - mates Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy and Prafulla Chandra Sen. A decade of instability followed, marred by fractious coalition governments and frequent impositions of President 's rule. The instability ended with 1977 election victory of the Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) ( CPM ). Headed by Jyoti Basu, the CPM - led Left Front government was in office for over 23 years ( 1977 -- 2000 ), making Basu India 's longest - serving chief minister ever. Left rule in West Bengal continued for another 10 years under Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, before its defeat in the 2011 election by the Trinamool Congress. Appointed on 20 May 2011, Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee is the current incumbent, the state 's first woman chief minister. Contents 1 Colour key for parties 2 Premiers of Bengal 3 Chief Ministers of West Bengal 4 See also 5 Notes Colour key for parties All - India Muslim League All India Trinamool Congress Bangla Congress Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) Independent Indian National Congress Krishak Praja Party N / A ( President 's rule ) Premiers of Bengal Following partition, the former premiers of Bengal -- A.K. Fazlul Huq, Khawaja Nazimuddin and H.S. Suhrawardy -- all became Pakistani citizens. The latter two became Prime Ministers of Pakistan in the 1950s. No Name Took office Left office Duration Election Party A.K. Fazlul Huq 1 April 1937 1 December 1941 5 years, 351 days 1937 Krishak Praja Party 12 December 1941 29 March 1943 Khawaja Nazimuddin 29 April 1943 31 March 1945 7002733000000000000 ♠ 2 years, 2 days All - India Muslim League H.S. Suhrawardy 23 April 1946 14 August 1947 7002478000000000000 ♠ 1 year, 113 days 1946 Chief Ministers of West Bengal Writers ' Building, an 18th - century Company - era construction in Kolkata, serves as the office of West Bengal 's chief Minister. The first Chief Minister of West Bengal, Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, at Writers ' in 1947 The Presidential Standard of India. Between 1968 and 1977, West Bengal came under President 's rule on four occasions. With over 23 years in office, Jyoti Basu of the Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) is India 's longest - serving chief minister. Basu 's successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who served for over 10 years No Name Took office Left office Duration Assembly ( election ) Party ( alliance ) Premier of West Bengal Prafulla Chandra Ghosh 15 August 1947 22 January 1948 160 days Not yet created Indian National Congress Bidhan Chandra Roy 23 January 1948 25 January 1950 7002733000000000000 ♠ 2 years, 2 days Chief Minister of West Bengal ( 2 ) Bidhan Chandra Roy Bowbazar 26 January 1950 30 March 1952 7003453900000000000 ♠ 12 years, 156 days ( total : 14 years, 158 days ) Not yet created Indian National Congress 31 March 1952 5 April 1957 First Assembly ( 1952 -- 57 ) ( January 1952 election ) 6 April 1957 2 April 1962 Second Assembly ( 1957 -- 62 ) ( March 1957 election ) 3 April 1962 1 July 1962 Third Assembly ( 1962 -- 67 ) ( February 1962 election ) Prafulla Chandra Sen Arambagh East 1 July 1962 28 February 1967 7003170300000000000 ♠ 4 years, 242 days Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee Tamluk 1 March 1967 21 November 1967 265 days Fourth Assembly ( 1967 -- 68 ) ( February 1967 election ) Bangla Congress ( United Front ) ( 1 ) Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Jhargram 21 November 1967 19 February 1968 90 days ( total : 250 days ) Independent ( Progressive Democratic Front ) -- Vacant ( President 's rule ) 20 February 1968 25 February 1969 7002371000000000000 ♠ 1 year, 5 days Dissolved N / A ( 4 ) Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee Tamluk 25 February 1969 30 July 1970 7002520000000000000 ♠ 1 year, 155 days Fifth Assembly ( 1969 -- 70 ) ( February 1969 election ) Bangla Congress ( United Front ) -- Vacant ( President 's rule ) 30 July 1970 2 March 1971 215 days Dissolved N / A ( 4 ) Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee Tamluk 2 April 1971 25 June 1971 84 days ( total : 2 years, 139 days ) Sixth Assembly ( 1971 ) ( March 1971 election ) Indian National Congress -- Vacant ( President 's rule ) 25 June 1971 19 March 1972 268 days Dissolved N / A 5 Siddhartha Shankar Ray Malda 20 March 1972 30 April 1977 7003186700000000000 ♠ 5 years, 41 days Seventh Assembly ( 1972 -- 77 ) ( March 1972 election ) Indian National Congress -- Vacant ( President 's rule ) 30 April 1977 20 June 1977 51 days Dissolved N / A 6 Jyoti Basu Satgacchia 21 June 1977 23 May 1982 7003853800000000000 ♠ 23 years, 137 days Eighth Assembly ( 1977 -- 82 ) ( June 1977 election ) Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) ( Left Front ) 24 May 1982 29 March 1987 Ninth Assembly ( 1982 -- 87 ) ( May 1982 election ) 30 March 1987 18 June 1991 Tenth Assembly ( 1987 -- 91 ) ( March 1987 election ) 19 June 1991 15 May 1996 Eleventh Assembly ( 1991 -- 96 ) ( May 1991 election ) 16 May 1996 5 November 2000 Twelfth Assembly ( 1996 -- 2001 ) ( May 1996 election ) 7 Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Jadavpur 6 November 2000 14 May 2001 7003384000000000000 ♠ 10 years, 188 days 15 May 2001 17 May 2006 Thirteenth Assembly ( 2001 -- 06 ) ( May 2001 election ) 18 May 2006 13 May 2011 Fourteenth Assembly ( 2006 -- 11 ) ( April -- May 2006 election ) 8 Mamata Banerjee Bhabanipur 20 May 2011 25 May 2016 7003236700000000000 ♠ 6 years, 175 days Fifteenth Assembly ( 2011 -- 16 ) ( April -- May 2011 election ) All India Trinamool Congress 27 May 2016 Incumbent Sixteenth Assembly ( 2016 -- 21 ) ( April -- May 2016 election ) See also List of Governors of West Bengal List of rulers of Bengal Notes Footnotes Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chief ministers of West Bengal. Jump up ^ During Fazlul Huq 's first term ( 1937 -- 41 ), his ministry was formed in coalition with the Muslim League. His second government ( 1941 -- 43 ), on the other hand, was propped up by eight parties, with the Muslim League in opposition. Jump up ^ A number inside brackets indicates that the incumbent has previously held office. Jump up ^ During 1 -- 8 July 1962, Sen was acting Chief Minister of West Bengal. He was sworn - in as full - time chief minister on 9 July. ^ Jump up to : President 's rule may be imposed when the `` government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution '', which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When President 's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved. References Jump up ^ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978 - 81 - 8038 - 559 - 9. Note : although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of West Bengal as well. Jump up ^ Premiers of Bengal. West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Retrieved on 12 June 2014. Jump up ^ De, Amalendu ; Rahim, Enayetur ( 2012 ). `` Huq, AK Fazlul ''. In Islam, Sirajul ; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia : National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh ( Second ed. ). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Jump up ^ List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal ( pdf ). BanglarMukh. Retrieved on 12 June 2014. Jump up ^ Premiers / Chief Ministers of West Bengal Archived 12 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine... West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Retrieved on 12 June 2014. Jump up ^ Brief Information on Previous Assemblies. West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Retrieved on 12 June 2014. Jump up ^ Origin and Growth of the West Bengal Legislature. West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Retrieved on 12 June 2014. Jump up ^ Amberish K. Diwanji. `` A dummy 's guide to President 's rule ''. Rediff.com. 15 March 2005. Chief Ministers of West Bengal Prafulla Chandra Ghosh ( 1947 -- 48 ; 1967 -- 68 ) Bidhan Chandra Roy ( 1948 -- 1962 ) Prafulla Chandra Sen ( 1962 -- 67 ) Ajoy Mukherjee ( 1967 ; 1969 -- 70 ; 1971 ) Siddhartha Shankar Ray ( 1972 -- 77 ) Jyoti Basu ( 1977 -- 2000 ) Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee ( 2000 -- 2011 ) Mamata Banerjee ( 2011 -- ) Lists of chief ministers of Indian states ( and current incumbents ) Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu Assam Sarbananda Sonowal Bihar Nitish Kumar Chhattisgarh Raman Singh Delhi Arvind Kejriwal Goa Manohar Parrikar Gujarat Vijay Rupani Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti Jharkhand Raghubar Das Karnataka Siddaramaiah Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis Manipur N. Biren Singh Meghalaya Mukul Sangma Mizoram Lal Thanhawla Nagaland T.R. Zeliang Odisha Naveen Patnaik Puducherry V. Narayanasamy Punjab Amarinder Singh Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje Sikkim Pawan Kumar Chamling Tamil Nadu Edappadi K. Palaniswami Telangana K. Chandrasekhar Rao Tripura Manik Sarkar Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat West Bengal Mamata Banerjee Women chief ministers From the Bharatiya Janata Party From the Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Chief_Ministers_of_West_Bengal&oldid=791532838 '' Categories : Chief Ministers of West Bengal Lists of Chief Ministers of Indian states West Bengal - related lists Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links EngvarB from June 2015 Use dmy dates from June 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Deutsch हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia मराठी ଓଡ଼ିଆ தமிழ் తెలుగు Edit links This page was last edited on 20 July 2017, at 21 : 39. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who has held the office for chief minister for the longest time
Answer: Jyoti Basu