Suvendu set to be first-ever BJP CM in West Bengal
Suvendu Adhikari was on Friday elected the Leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Legislative Party in West Bengal, paving the way for him to become the first BJP Chief Minister in the state’s history, according to ANI.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who chaired the legislative party meeting in Kolkata as the Central Observer for the election, made the announcement formally.
“I announce the name of Suvendu Adhikari elected as Leader of West Bengal BJP Legislative Party,” Shah declared at the meeting.
Adhikari is set to take oath as Chief Minister on Saturday — a day that marks the birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
A Historic Majority
The development follows a landmark victory for the BJP in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
The party won 207 seats, dealing a decisive blow to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), which managed only 80 seats after 15 consecutive years in power.
Adhikari himself contested from two constituencies — Nandigram and Bhabanipur. In Bhabanipur, the outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s stronghold, he defeated her by a margin of over 15,000 votes — his second successive victory over her.
‘No Alternative to Adhikari’
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nisith Pramanik was among the most vocal backers of Adhikari’s elevation.
Speaking to ANI, Pramanik said the party’s sweeping win reflected the people of West Bengal’s hunger for change.
“The person who has defeated Mamata Banerjee twice, who has sacrificed his life for his party and the country — Bengal needs such a Chief Minister. There’s certainly no alternative to Suvendu Adhikari in Bengal yet,” Pramanik told ANI.
He added that tackling illegal infiltration and completing the fencing of the state’s border would be among the incoming government’s foremost priorities.
Following his election as legislative party leader, Adhikari met with the party’s newly-elected MLAs and senior BJP leaders in Kolkata on Friday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also present and garlanded Adhikari after the announcement, in a moment captured widely by the press.
