KOLKATA, May 8: Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari will be the first BJP chief minister of West Bengal, marking a watershed moment in the state’s political history after decades of resistance to saffron politics.
Adhikari has been unanimously elected leader of the BJP legislature party, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Friday after a meeting of newly elected BJP MLAs and senior leaders here, formally sealing the BJP’s emphatic capture of power in Bengal in the assembly polls.
Shortly after his election, Adhikari drove to Raj Bhavan and met Governor RN Ravi to stake a claim to form the new government. The governor invited him to take the oath as chief minister at Brigade Parade Ground on May 9.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony that the party hopes will underline Bengal’s political transition.
West Bengal is the second state to have a BJP chief minister for the first time. Last Month, Samrat Chaudhary took the oath as Bihar Chief Minister as the state got its first BJP-led government.
Suvendu’s rise to the top
Very few in West Bengal were taken aback when, on Friday, Shah formally anointed Adhikari as the leader of the party’s legislative wing in the state.
In many ways, Adhikari earned the distinction, having dealt two resounding electoral blows to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee within the span of five years—first in his own backyard of Nandigram during the 2021 assembly elections, and then, perhaps even more symbolically, in Banerjee’s so-called “impregnable” bastion of Bhabanipur in the recently concluded polls.
His victories, coupled with his pivotal role in orchestrating the BJP’s watershed triumph in Bengal, firmly cemented his stature as one among the primary architects of the party’s remarkable ascent in the state.
Indeed, Adhikari’s political journey has been marked as much by confrontation as by calculation, most notably during his five-year tenure as the Leader of the Opposition, when he emerged as the principal challenger to the regime of Mamata Banerjee.
From fierce legislative battles to relentless agitations within the precincts of the Assembly, Adhikari, as the Leader of the Opposition, positioned himself at the forefront of the BJP’s campaign against the government’s policies and legislations, often dominating proceedings with combative speeches and charged interventions on the floor of the House.
That turbulent phase, however, was not without backlashes. In repeated confrontations with the erstwhile TMC establishment, Adhikari, along with several BJP legislators, endured the ignominy of multiple suspensions from the Assembly, punitive measures that came to symbolise the deepening acrimony between the treasury and opposition benches.
Adhikari also embodies, almost perfectly, the template earlier articulated by Shah during his campaign trail — that the BJP’s chief ministerial face in Bengal would be a son of the soil, born and raised in the state, shaped by its culture, and educated through the Bengali-medium system.
Born in Karkuli village in Purba Medinipur district to veteran politician Sisir Adhikari and Gayatri Adhikari, Suvendu’s formative years were marked by his primary and secondary education at Contai High School before pursuing an undergraduate degree in Arts from Prabhat Kumar College in the same region.
He later earned a Master’s degree in History from Kolkata’s Rabindra Bharati University, a trajectory that reinforced his image as a quintessential Bengali political figure whose rise was forged not outside, but from within the heartland of the state itself.
Vijay likely to take oath as TN CM today
TVK chief Vijay on Friday moved closer to forming his maiden government as Left parties’ declared support to him, capping days of hectic parleys aimed at government formation.
While CPI and CPI (M) officially announced their support to Vijay, there were indications that VCK had also backed TVK, while the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) said it will support initiatives towards government formation. Vijay is expected to be sworn-in on Saturday.
Hours after the Left parties pledged unconditional support, Vijay reached the office of the Governor in Guindy over government formation and TVK supporters broke into celebrations here and elsewhere in the state anticipating Vijay’s swearing-in.
BJP to elect new Assam CM on Sunday
The BJP Legislature Party will meet on Sunday to elect its new leader of the Assam Legislative Assembly, outgoing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
The new government will be sworn in at 11 am on May 12 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.
The new leader will be elected in the presence of the party’s central observer, Union Minister JP Nadda, and co-observer and Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini, Sarma told reporters.
Sarma is the frontrunner to continue as Assam Chief Minister after the BJP-led NDA won 102 out of 126 seats in the assembly elections. (PTI)
