West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is celebrating her 71st birthday today. The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, who has been in power for more than a decade, has been leading West Bengal since 2011, winning three consecutive terms. However, despite her long-running political career, one fact that comes as a big surprise is that Mamata Banerjee is the poorest chief minister in India in terms of declared assets.
According to her latest available election affidavits and civil society analyses, Mamata Banerjee’s declared net worth stands at around Rs. 15.38 lakh, making her the least wealthy serving chief minister in the country.
Multiple reports, including those by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), have placed Mamata Banerjee consistently at the bottom of the list of asset comparisons of India’s 31 chief ministers.
In her 2021 West Bengal Assembly election affidavit, filed during the Bhowanipore by-poll, Banerjee declared only movable assets and no immovable property, such as land or a residential house. Subsequent ADR analyses of affidavits filed after the December 2024 elections and bye-elections show little change in her financial position.
Mamata Banerjee Asset details
As per the affidavit, Mamata Banerjee’s financial profile includes cash in hand worth Rs. 69,255 and bank deposits of around Rs. 13.5 lakh, including Rs. 1.5 lakh in the election expenditure account. She also owns jewellery worth 9 grams, approximately Rs. 43,837.
How she compares with other chief ministers
For context, Banerjee’s declared assets are far lower than those of many of her peers. As per the publicly available ADR report, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has declared assets worth around Rs. 55 lakh, while Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has assets exceeding Rs. 1 crore.
Public records indicate that the West Bengal Chief Minister is entitled to a monthly salary of around Rs. 2.1 lakh, which is roughly Rs. 25.2 lakh annually. However, Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly stated that she does not draw her CM or MLA salary. Instead, she relies mainly on royalties from her books, paintings, and other creative work for income.
This is a very rare profile in Indian politics, where most politicians’ wealth often attracts scrutiny; Mamata Banerjee stands out for her simple lifestyle and low declared assets.
