Editing West Bengal (section)

== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Government of West Bengal|Politics of West Bengal}}
{{See also|List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal}}
West Bengal is governed through a [[parliamentary system]] of [[representative democracy]], a feature the state shares with other Indian states. [[Universal suffrage]] is granted to residents. There are two branches of government. The legislature, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, consists of elected members and special office bearers such as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, who are elected by the members. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker in the Speaker's absence. The [[judiciary]] is composed of the [[Calcutta High Court]] and a system of lower courts. [[Executive (government)|Executive authority]] is vested in the Council of Ministers headed by the [[Chief Minister of West Bengal|Chief Minister]] although the titular head of government is the [[Governor of West Bengal|Governor]]. The Governor is the [[Head of State]] appointed by the [[President of India]]. The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Legislative Assembly is appointed as the Chief Minister by the Governor. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers reports to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is [[unicameral]] with 295 [[Member of the Legislative Assembly|members]], or MLAs,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legislativebodiesinindia.gov.in/States%5Cwestbengal%5Cwesbengal-w.htm |title=West Bengal legislative assembly |access-date = 28 October 2006 |work=Legislative bodies in India |publisher=National Informatics Centre, India |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160313022603/http://legislativebodiesinindia.gov.in/states/westbengal/wesbengal-w.htm |archive-date = 13 March 2016}}</ref> including one nominated from the [[Anglo-Indian]] community. Terms of office run for five years unless the Assembly is dissolved before the completion of the term. Auxiliary authorities known as ''[[Panchayati raj in India|panchayat]]s'', for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs. The state contributes 42 seats to the [[Lok Sabha]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ceowestbengal.nic.in/news_pdf/gazette123.pdf |title=Notification: order no. 18 |author=Delimitation Commission |date=15 February 2006 |publisher=[[Election Commission of India]] |location=New Delhi |pages=23–25 |access-date = 11 February 2012 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110813092204/http://ceowestbengal.nic.in/news_pdf/gazette123.pdf |archive-date = 13 August 2011}}</ref> and 16 seats to the [[Rajya Sabha]] of the [[Indian Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/rsat_work/chapter-2.pdf |title=Composition of Rajya Sabha |work=Rajya Sabha at work |publisher=[[Rajya Sabha]] Secretariat |location=New Delhi |pages=24–25 |access-date = 15 February 2012 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305020442/http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/rsat_work/chapter-2.pdf |archive-date = 5 March 2016}}</ref>

[[Politics in West Bengal]] is dominated by the [[All India Trinamool Congress]] (AITC), [[Bharatiya Janata Party, West Bengal|Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), [[Indian National Congress]] (INC), and the [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]] alliance (led by the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] or CPI(M)). Following the [[2011 West Bengal state assembly election|West Bengal State Assembly Election in 2011]], the All India Trinamool Congress and Indian National Congress coalition under [[Mamata Banerjee]] of the All India Trinamool Congress was elected to power with 225 seats in the legislature.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statewise results – West Bengal |url=http://eciresults.nic.in/statewiseS25.htm |publisher=[[Election Commission of India]] |access-date = 13 May 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110516052659/http://eciresults.nic.in/Statewises25.htm |archive-date = 16 May 2011}}</ref>

Prior to this, West Bengal was ruled by the Left Front for 34 years (1977–2011), making it the world's longest-running democratically elected [[communist]] government.<ref name="longcommu" /> Banerjee was re-elected twice as Chief Minister in the [[2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] and [[2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] with 211 and 215 seats respectively, an absolute majority by the Trinamool Congress.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/TMC-registers-strong-wins-in-Bengal-by-elections/article16675192.ece |title=TMC registers strong wins in Bengal by-elections |date=22 November 2016 |work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=4 January 2018 |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124161817/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/TMC-registers-strong-wins-in-Bengal-by-elections/article16675192.ece|archive-date=24 November 2016}}</ref> The state has one autonomous region, the [[Gorkhaland Territorial Administration]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=728097 |title=Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Agreement signed |publisher=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]] |date=18 July 2011 |access-date = 16 March 2012 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120603154514/http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=728097 |archive-date = 3 June 2012}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align             = center
| direction         = 
| title             = Main offices in West Bengal
| image1            = Governor's House.jpg
| caption1          = [[Raj Bhavan, Kolkata|Raj Bhavan]], the residence of the governor of the state
| image2            = West Bengal State Legislative Assembly House, Kolkata.jpg
| caption2          = [[West Bengal Legislative Assembly]]
| image3            = Calcutta High Court.jpg
| caption3          = [[Calcutta High Court]], highest court in West Bengal
| image4            = Nabanna - HRBC Building with Multistorey Car Park - Sibpur - Howrah 2015-03-09 6834.JPG
| caption4          = [[Nabanna (building)|Nabanna]], temporary office of the [[Chief Minister of West Bengal]]
| image5            = Writer's Building & St. Andrew's Church (14653055458).jpg
| caption5          = [[Writers' Building]], West Bengal Government Secretariat
| total_width       = 1130
}}