Her physical appearance may belie her position but it strikes a chord with the masses of India. Known for her extreme simplicity and frugality, Mamata Banerjee, founder of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), and the 11th chief minister of West Bengal was born on Jan 5, 1955.

She grew up in a lower-middle class household and is said to be politically inclined from a very young age.

After separating from the Indian National Congress, Banerjee founded the TMC in 1998 and also became its chief.

Popularly known as Didi (elder sister), she is often cited in the media as one of India’s most volatile political leaders.

An accomplished politician, however, Banerjee has twice remained as the Minister of Railways, Minister of Coal and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Department of Youth Affairs and Sports and Women and Child Development in the Indian government’s cabinet.

In 2011, Banerjee vanquished the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Left Front in the legislative assembly elections and assumed the chief minister’s office in West Bengal. Her astounding victory also marked the end of the world’s longest running, 34-year old rule of the Left Front Communist government.

Predicted to win adequate seats in a scenario where no Indian political party wins an outright majority in the 2014 general election and moreover likely to play a crucial role in coalition negotiations, Didi is expected to give tough competition to her fellow election candidates.

— Research and text by Fatema Imani