The Political Asceticism of Mamata Banerjee: Female Populist Leadership in Contemporary India

Abstract

Operating within the androcentric premises that support idealized models of populist leadership, self-representations cultivated by female populist leaders often involve precarious balancing acts, compelling them to appropriate contextualized traditionalist discourses and modes of power to qualify for conventional leadership models. This article engages with the stylistic performance of populist leadership by Mamata Banerjee of the All India Trinamool Congress in the state of West Bengal, India, focusing on her adoption of the discursive mode of political asceticism, nativist rhetoric, and religious iconography. Through an interpretive analysis of selected party documents, autobiography, and semistructured interviews with Banerjee's followers and critics, the article delineates Banerjee's populist self-fashioning as a political ascetic and explores perceptions of her leadership. The article argues that while the self-makings of female populist leaders remain fraught and contested, they contribute substantially toward redrawing the boundaries of both conventional leadership models and the broader political landscapes they inhabit.

Personalization of politics through visuals: Interplay of identity, ideology, and gender in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly Election Campaign

“…The construction of Modi”s image as a “strong/masculinist leader” along with the emotional appeal of Hindu nationalism and astute statesmanship conforms to this conceptual understanding. Mamata Banerjee’s image, on the other hand, is that of a “political ascetic combining elements of Hindu goddess imagery and nativistic rhetoric” (Chaudhury, 2022: 6) while simultaneously presenting herself as a strong leader who can confront the challenges posed to her authority. Additionally, her self-fashioning as the descendant of Bengal’s secular tradition combined with the powerful imaging of sub-nationalism attempted to raise her to the pedestal of a leader/custodian.…”

The populist body in the age of social media: A comparative study of populist and non-populist representation

“…However, we expect to show that the picture is more nuanced. By choosing a female populist leader, we hope to be able to comment on possible ways in which gendered bodies are able to develop their own versions of populist performances, in line with analysis such as Geva (2019) and Chaudhury (2021). Conversely, our analysis of Mauricio Macri’s presentation will show that technocratic performance is not necessarily more open to egalitarian commentaries on gender.…”

The pandemic and the state: Interrogating capacity and response to COVID-19 in West Bengal

“…First is the supremacy of the leader, Mamata Banerjee, which translates into distinct centralization of decision-making. Mamata Banerjee embodies the discursive mode of political asceticism (hawaichoti), nativist rhetoric (ma, mati, manush), gendered populist self (didi), and religious iconography in her leadership (Ray Chaudhury 2021). Such a narrative is appropriately disposed for populist politics that identifies the leader as the protector of the people, the upholder of a certain morality, and the embodiment of sovereignty (Chatterjee 2020).…”