What Did PM Modi Wish for Mamata Banerjee on Her Birthday? Unraveling the Mystery!
Birthday Greetings from the Prime Minister
Kolkata: On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his birthday wishes to Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, expressing hopes for her good health and longevity.
The Prime Minister shared his message on X, stating, “Birthday wishes to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Didi. I pray for her good health and long life.”
For several years, Modi has consistently taken the opportunity to extend his greetings to Banerjee on her special day.
This year's wishes come amid ongoing discussions regarding the actual date of Banerjee's birth, a topic she herself brought up last year, shortly after Modi's birthday message on January 5.
During a state government event in Kolkata on January 8, 2025, Banerjee claimed she had turned 65 that day, contradicting the Prime Minister's assertion that she was 70.
She acknowledged that, according to official records, she had indeed celebrated her 70th birthday on January 5 of the previous year. Banerjee explained that her father had mistakenly recorded her birth year as five years later during her school enrollment, a fact she only learned later.
“My elder brother Ajit Banerjee informed me about that during my college years. He also mentioned that the age difference between us, according to the certificate, is just six years,” she stated on January 8 last year.
In her 1995 memoir, ‘Ekante’, Banerjee described her birth occurring during the Durga Puja festival, which typically takes place in late September or early October according to the Hindu calendar.
Official records indicate that Banerjee was born on January 5, 1955, making her 71 years old as of Monday.
Mamata Banerjee has been serving as the Chief Minister of West Bengal since 2011, marking the end of a 34-year rule by the Left Front. Her party has secured victories in two consecutive state Assembly elections, first in 2016 and again in 2021.
She holds the distinction of being West Bengal's first female Chief Minister. As a former opposition leader, she led numerous protests against the Left Front government.
Initially part of the Congress party, she later established her own political entity, the Trinamool Congress. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and the 2011 state Assembly elections, her party allied with Congress. However, in the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections, Congress separated from Trinamool and formed an alliance with the Left Front, which persisted until the upcoming general elections in 2024.