KOLKATA, May 7: In a seismic shift in West Bengal politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will take oath to form the new government in West Bengal following its landslide victory in the Assembly elections.
Suvendu Adhikari, the current Leader of the Opposition and a former TMC leader who switched to the BJP, stands as the clear frontrunner to become the state’s next chief minister.
Adhikari, often described as the “giant-slayer,” delivered a high-profile defeat to Mamata Banerjee, winning both Nandigram and her stronghold of Bhabanipur with impressive margins.
Party sources and multiple reports indicate that Adhikari is widely expected to be formally elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party at a key meeting scheduled on Friday, paving the way for his elevation.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other central leaders have been closely involved in the strategy, and Adhikari’s profile as a Bengali leader with strong grassroots appeal and organizational experience makes him the leading choice.
Apart from Adhikari, names such as state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta have surfaced in political discussions for the Chief Minister’s post. But party insiders indicated that the leadership remains inclined towards projecting a “bhumiputra” face rooted in Bengal’s linguistic and cultural ethos – a formulation repeatedly invoked by Shah during the campaign to counter the TMC’s charge that the BJP represented an “outsider” political culture.
The new BJP government is set to take oath on Saturday at 10 am at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya confirmed the date, and revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and chief ministers from other BJP/NDA states are expected to attend. (Agencies)
