BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, buoyant from historic victories in West Bengal’s Bhabanipur and Nandigram said on Monday that the party’s next major political focus is the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, part of the wider contest leading up to the state polls next year.
Referring to several Opposition leaders, he remarked, “Mamata Banerjee, Tejashwi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi finished, Akhilesh Yadav is next,” in a pointed reference to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is expected to lead the challenge against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, reports NDTV.
Adhikari also paid tribute to BJP workers who, he said, had been killed in incidents of violence across West Bengal. He launched a sharp attack on outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying her political decline had already begun.
“Her political exile has started. She lost Nandigram in 2021 and has lost Bhabanipur this time by over 15,000 votes,” he said.
He further compared the Trinamool Congress with the Aam Aadmi Party, claiming both would eventually fade from the political landscape. Calling the TMC corrupt, family-driven and ideologically hollow, he said its time in power was nearing an end.
Adhikari said the outcome reflected a consolidation of Hindu votes in his favour. “The Hindu people of Nandigram made me win again. There, the entire Muslim vote went to TMC. Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jains voted for me. This is hindutva, Bengal and PM Modi’s win,” he added.
He also claimed that several CPM supporters backed him. He went on to assert that a number of TMC Members of Parliament and grassroots workers would soon switch allegiance to the BJP.
In a closely watched electoral contest that echoed the intense political battle of Nandigram five years ago, Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur by 15,105 votes after counting concluded over 20 rounds, according to the Election Commission of India.
The result, observers noted, revived memories of the 2021 Nandigram contest, where Adhikari had earlier defeated Banerjee in a high-voltage political clash that significantly reshaped West Bengal’s political dynamics.
Once a close aide of Banerjee and a key organiser in strengthening the TMC across districts such as East Midnapore, Adhikari has now emerged as a prominent figure in discussions surrounding the BJP’s potential leadership face in the state.
He also secured victory over TMC candidate Pabitra Kar in Nandigram, further consolidating his position in West Bengal politics.
