New Delhi: Suvendu Adhikari, who emerged as the BJP’s star candidate by defeating Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in her traditional stronghold of Bhabanipur, is poised to become the party’s new chief minister in West Bengal.
The announcement was made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been designated as the BJP’s Central Observer for the state.
According to reports, Adhikari is scheduled to be sworn in as Chief Minister at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Brigade Parade Ground.
Speaking after a meeting with newly elected party legislators, Shah declared Adhikari the unanimous choice for the top post, noting that multiple proposals had come in from within the party endorsing his candidature.
Shah expressed gratitude to the people of Bengal for the trust and mandate they had placed in the BJP, pledging that the party would not betray that confidence. He also reflected on what he described as a long-standing political atmosphere – traced back to the Communist era and allegedly reinforced under Banerjee’s rule – which had made free and fair voting nearly impossible.
He credited the massive victory to the people of Bengal and their faith in both the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling it a historic moment and describing the incoming administration as the spiritual legacy of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend Saturday’s ceremony, having hinted at his likely presence during his final campaign rally in Barrackpore, where he expressed confidence that he would return to witness the BJP’s oath-taking after the May 4 results.
In the 2026 Assembly elections, the BJP secured a commanding 207 seats, while the All India Trinamool Congress – which had governed the state for 15 years – was reduced to just 80 seats.
Despite the outcome, outgoing Chief Minister Banerjee declined to step down, reportedly stating that those who wanted her out could formally remove her and characterising any such move as a dark moment for the state.
In response, West Bengal Governor R.N. Ravi dissolved the Legislative Assembly, paving the way for the new BJP government to take charge.
Adhikari, who had defected from the Trinamool Congress in December 2020 after years as one of Banerjee’s trusted lieutenants, has been at the centre of Bengal’s political drama.
He first defeated Banerjee in Nandigram in 2021, and then consolidated his position by winning Bhabanipur – her own bastion – by a margin exceeding 15,000 votes, making him the undisputed face of the BJP’s Bengal triumph.
