BJP MLAs meet to elect new West Bengal CM, Suvendu Adhikari to grab spot

The swearing-in ceremony of the state's first BJP government is scheduled to be held at Brigade Parade Ground on May 9.

Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party is scheduled to meet in Kolkata on Friday, May 8, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to formally elect its leader, with Suvendu Adhikari emerging as the frontrunner to become the party’s first chief minister in West Bengal.

The BJP registered a historic victory in the just-held Assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule and dealing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee one of the biggest setbacks of her political career.

Though the BJP has not officially announced its chief ministerial choice, Adhikari has emerged as the frontrunner after securing two of the most politically significant victories – retaining Nandigram, where he defeated Banerjee in 2021, and now wresting Bhabanipur, long regarded as the TMC supremo’s pocket borough.

The swearing-in ceremony of the state’s first BJP government is scheduled to be held at Brigade Parade Ground on May 9, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin and chief ministers of all National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states expected to attend.

Suvendu Adhikari was once Mamata’s closest ally

Once among Banerjee’s closest associates and a key architect of the TMC’s organisational expansion in rural West Bengal, Adhikari joined the BJP in December 2020 and went on to become the party’s most aggressive campaigner in the state.

“His sustained political battle against the TMC, organisational reach and electoral victories against Mamata Banerjee have strengthened his claim,” a senior BJP leader said.

According to party insiders, Adhikari’s victory from Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes is being viewed within the BJP as both a symbolic and strategic turning point in Bengal politics.

However, the leadership contest is not seen as entirely settled. Other names being discussed within the BJP circles include state party president Samik Bhattacharya and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, who won the Rashbehari seat.

While Dasgupta is viewed by some within the party as an intellectual face capable of balancing governance with political messaging, Bhattacharya is credited with steering the organisation through a crucial electoral phase.

Senior BJP leaders, however, maintained that the final decision would rest with the party’s central leadership.