GUWAHATI: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has been chosen as the state’s next chief minister, making him the first leader from the BJP to head a government in Bengal. Union Home Minister Amit Shah officially announced the decision after the BJP legislature party met in Kolkata on Friday, May 8, to elect its leader and the next Chief Minister of the state.
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The BJP secured a decisive mandate in the 294-member Assembly, winning 207 of the 293 seats it contested, ending decades of dominance by regional parties and the Left Front in the state.
Adhikari’s appointment had been widely anticipated throughout the campaign, with BJP leaders repeatedly projecting him as a “son of the soil” capable of leading Bengal with a deep understanding of its language, culture, and political identity.
One of the defining moments of the election came when Adhikari defeated outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, a constituency considered one of her strongest bastions. He also retained Nandigram, the politically symbolic seat that played a central role in shaping his rise as a mass leader during the anti-land acquisition movement of 2007.
Speaking in Nandigram earlier this week, Adhikari said he would vacate one of the two seats within 10 days, while noting that the final decision would be taken by the BJP’s central leadership.
Adhikari’s political journey reflects the changing dynamics of Bengal politics over the last decade. Once a close associate of Mamata Banerjee in the Trinamool Congress, he emerged as one of the key faces of the Nandigram movement, which paved the way for the end of the Left Front’s 34-year rule in 2011.
His switch to the BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections significantly altered the political landscape in the state and strengthened the saffron party’s push to expand its presence in Bengal.