A source-led record of Partition, territorial change, constitutional government, elections, people, economy, World Heritage, rivers, movements and accountability.
A region’s history stays humane when borders are dated, displacement is remembered without blame, and rivers, work and rights remain visible in the same record.— Rahul Gautam
| Chief Minister / administration | Period | Political frame |
|---|---|---|
| Prafulla Chandra Ghosh | 1947–1948; 1967–1968 | INC first ministry; later Progressive Democratic Alliance |
| Bidhan Chandra Roy | 1948–1962 | INC |
| Prafulla Chandra Sen | 1962–1967 | INC |
| Ajoy Mukherjee | 1967; 1969–1970; 1971 | Bangla Congress-led United Front periods |
| President’s Rule | 1968–1969; 1970–1971; 1971–1972 | Separate proclamations during unstable Assembly periods |
| Siddhartha Shankar Ray | 1972–1977 | INC |
| Jyoti Basu | 1977–2000 | CPI(M)-led Left Front |
| Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee | 2000–2011 | CPI(M)-led Left Front |
| Mamata Banerjee | 2011–9 May 2026 | AITC; three terms |
| Suvendu Adhikari | 9 May 2026–present | BJP; first BJP Chief Minister of the State |
West Bengal Legislative Assembly · PMO oath record, 9 May 2026.
R. N. Ravi is Governor and Suvendu Adhikari is Chief Minister. Ravi assumed the Governor’s office on 12 March 2026; Adhikari took oath on 9 May 2026.
Lok Bhavan Governor profile · Government Chief Minister profile.
The official directory lists Swapan Dasgupta in Finance, Manoj Kumar Oraon in Forests and Environment, Jagannath Chattopadhyay in Higher Education, Tapas Roy in Industry, Arjun Singh in Labour, Dilip Ghosh in Panchayats and Rural Development, and other cabinet and state ministers. Suvendu Adhikari retains multiple departments including Home and Hill Affairs.
| Election | Mandate | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | AITC 211; INC 44; CPI(M) 26; BJP 3; others 10 | Mamata Banerjee formed a second government. |
| 2021 | AITC 215; BJP 77; ISF 1; Independent 1 | Final results including delayed polls in all 294 constituencies. |
| 2026 | BJP 207; AITC 80; INC 2; AJUP 2; CPI(M) 1; AISF 1 | ECI’s published table covers 293 constituencies and excludes AC 144; the BJP formed government. |
West Bengal has 294 Assembly and 42 Lok Sabha constituencies. The 2026 line deliberately reports the ECI’s 293 declared-seat table rather than pretending it is a 294-seat final distribution.
| Measure | Figure / frame | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 91,276,115 | Census 2011 |
| Area | 88,752 km² | Government geographical frame |
| Urban share | 31.87% | Census 2011 |
| Economic frame | Services, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, trade, tea, jute and fisheries | Kolkata, industrial belts, plains, hills and delta require regional context |
Current-price GSDP, real growth, per-capita income, budget estimates and audited accounts remain separate series. Ports, the Kolkata metropolitan economy, informal work and agricultural livelihoods should not be collapsed into one indicator.
The Sundarbans National Park, Santiniketan and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway component of the Mountain Railways of India are inscribed properties. Durga Puja in Kolkata is separately listed as intangible cultural heritage.
The Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hooghly system, Teesta, Damodar, erosion, floods, embankments and the Sundarbans require basin- and site-specific records. A hazard forecast is not a measured loss.
Food movements, Naxalbari, refugee rehabilitation, Operation Barga, Singur, Nandigram and Gorkhaland mobilisations arose in different periods with distinct demands and legal contexts.
The Himalaya, Terai–Dooars, western plateau, Gangetic plain and mangrove delta form contrasting ecological regions. Tiger habitat, tea landscapes and coastal settlements need different conservation evidence.
UNESCO India properties · UNESCO Durga Puja record · West Bengal Forest Directorate.
CAG reports on State finances, revenue, compliance, performance, public-sector undertakings and local bodies are attached to audited years and government responses. Welfare delivery, infrastructure, municipal finance, river works and procurement claims require report-level evidence.
Partition and boundaries: Parliament, India Code and MEA · offices: Lok Bhavan, State portal and Legislature · elections: ECI · population and economy: Census India, State statistics, Finance, RBI and CAG · heritage and nature: UNESCO, ASI, Forest and river authorities · movements and rights: archives, statutes, commissions and courts. Checked 3 September 2026.