Suvendu Adhikari Named West Bengal Chief Minister After BJP’s Historic Election Victory

Ending days of intense political speculation, the BJP on Thursday officially chose Suvendu Adhikari as the next Chief Minister of West Bengal following the party’s massive victory in the recently concluded Assembly elections.

Adhikari was unanimously elected leader of the BJP legislature party during a meeting held in Kolkata in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The announcement marks a dramatic political rise for the 55-year-old leader, who once served as one of Mamata Banerjee’s closest allies before emerging as her fiercest political rival.

The BJP secured a landslide mandate in West Bengal, winning 207 Assembly seats and ending years of Trinamool Congress dominance in the state.

In the 2021 elections, the party had won 77 seats and emerged as the principal opposition force. Five years later, it has completed a remarkable political turnaround by storming to power in Bengal.

Adhikari, who served as the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, played a central role in the BJP’s aggressive campaign against the ruling Trinamool Congress.

His elevation to the Chief Minister’s post is being seen as a reward for his organisational strength, grassroots influence, and ability to challenge Mamata Banerjee on her own political turf.

Born into a politically influential family, Suvendu is the son of veteran politician Sisir Adhikari, who served as a Union Minister during the UPA-II government.

The Adhikari family has long been a powerful force in the politics of Purba Medinipur district.

Suvendu began his political career with the Chhatra Parishad, the student wing of the Congress, during a period when the Left Front held a strong grip over Bengal politics.

In 1995, he was elected as a councillor in the Kanthi municipality, marking his first electoral success.

When Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998, Adhikari joined her new party and soon emerged as one of its most important grassroots leaders.

His entry gave the Trinamool much-needed strength in Purba Medinipur, where the party was trying to challenge the entrenched CPI(M) machinery led by former MP Lakshman Seth.

Adhikari’s political stature rose sharply during the Nandigram land acquisition movement in 2007.

As protests erupted against the then Left Front government led by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Suvendu became one of the most visible faces of the agitation.

His fiery speeches, rural Bengali accent, and combative street-style politics helped him connect deeply with ordinary people, much like Mamata Banerjee herself.

The Nandigram movement proved to be a turning point not only for the Trinamool Congress but also for Adhikari personally.

It established him as a powerful mass leader and strengthened the party’s presence across Purba Medinipur and neighbouring districts.

In 2009, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Tamluk and successfully retained the seat in 2014. After winning the Nandigram Assembly constituency in 2016, he vacated his parliamentary seat and joined Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet as Transport Minister.

At one stage, many within the Trinamool Congress considered him the party’s second-most influential leader after Mamata.

However, cracks in the relationship began appearing as Mamata increasingly promoted her nephew Abhishek Banerjee as her political successor and second-in-command. Adhikari reportedly felt sidelined within the party structure.

In a stunning political development in 2020, he resigned from the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections.

Soon after, he sharpened his attacks on the ruling party and coined the slogan “tolabaj bhaipo hatao” — a direct attack on Abhishek Banerjee and the Trinamool leadership.

The slogan triggered a bitter political confrontation. Mamata Banerjee publicly described the Adhikari family as “Mir Jafars,” accusing them of betrayal, and even criticised herself for failing to recognise their intentions earlier.

Despite the acrimony, Suvendu’s departure dealt a major blow to the Trinamool Congress, particularly in Purba Medinipur, where the party’s traditional dominance weakened considerably.

His political stature grew even further after he defeated Mamata Banerjee in the high-profile Nandigram contest during the 2021 elections — one of the most closely watched battles in modern Bengal politics.

He repeated the feat by defeating her again from Bhabanipur in the 2026 Assembly elections, cementing his image as one of the BJP’s strongest leaders in eastern India.

Following the 2021 polls, Adhikari earned praise from the BJP leadership for his aggressive opposition role inside and outside the Assembly, despite the Trinamool’s overwhelming majority at the time.

His uncompromising stand on several key political and governance issues helped him emerge as the undisputed face of the BJP in West Bengal.

Now, with the BJP finally capturing power in Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari stands at the centre of one of the most dramatic political transformations the state has witnessed in decades.