Following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) maiden triumph in the West Bengal assembly elections, internal deliberations have commenced regarding the appointment of the state’s next chief minister.
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition who famously unseated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her Bhabanipur stronghold, is presently viewed as the primary contender for the role, reports Hindustan Times.
In a monumental shift for the eastern state, the BJP secured 206 of the 293 seats where counting occurred on Monday. Conversely, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) saw its dominance diminish, managing to win or lead in only 81 constituencies.
Suvendu Adhikari’s standing within the party has been bolstered by his performance in Bhabanipur, where he defeated Banerjee by a margin of 15,105 votes.
He secured 73,917 votes against Banerjee’s 58,812. Adhikari also successfully contested the Nandigram seat, defeating the TMC’s Pabitra Kar by 9,665 votes, reports Hindustan Times.
Addressing the media outside the Sakhawat Memorial School counting centre in Kolkata, Adhikari remarked, “This is a historic victory… a victory of Hindutva, a victory of Bengal, a victory of Modiji.”
Party functionaries suggest Adhikari is being recognised for his persistent opposition to the TMC since his defection in 2020, despite facing around 300 legal cases initiated by the state government.
Highlighting his influence, a senior BJP leader noted, “For Adhikari, this was a test of his charisma and capability as leader of the opposition.”
While Adhikari remains the favourite, the BJP leadership has not discounted other prominent figures. Samik Bhattacharya, the state unit chief and a member of the Rajya Sabha, is being credited for leading the party to its first assembly win in Bengal.
Additionally, party vice-president Agnimitra Paul, who won the Asansol Dakshin seat and served as a Lok Sabha MP from 2019 to 2024, is considered a potential candidate should the party opt for a woman at the helm.
BJP’s campaign, spearheaded by Adhikari, focused heavily on the state’s 70.54 percent Hindu electorate. Last January, during a rally in East Midnapore, Adhikari asserted, “In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, we secured 38 percent votes. These are all Hindu votes. If 10 percent more Hindus vote for us, we will oust Mamata Banerjee next year.”
This strategy appears to have yielded results, with the party making significant gains in areas with high Muslim populations, such as Malda, Murshidabad, and Birbhum.
The party’s central leadership also played a pivotal role. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who accompanied Adhikari when he filed his nomination, had previously predicted this outcome, stating, “Mamata won the last election, but she was defeated by Suvendu Adhikari. This year, Mamata will lose all over Bengal as well as in Bhabanipur.”
BJP is expected to convene a meeting of its newly elected legislators in Kolkata shortly. A party official indicated that an observer will likely be appointed to oversee the legislative party meeting where the leader – and subsequent Chief Minister – will be formally elected.
“Once that is done, the ball will start rolling to form the BJP government in the state,” the official added.
