After Bengal sweep, Suvendu Adhikari emerges as frontrunner for CM post

With the BJP scripting a historic first-ever victory in West Bengal, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has emerged as the leading contender for the chief minister’s post after defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur on Monday, party insiders said.

The BJP won 206 of the 293 seats where counting was held, comfortably crossing the majority mark and ending the Trinamool Congress’s rule in the state. Mamata Banerjee’s TMC managed 81 seats.

While Adhikari is widely seen as the frontrunner, BJP leaders indicated that state unit chief Samik Bhattacharya and vice-president Agnimitra Paul are also under consideration for the top post.

Adhikari’s claim has been strengthened by his decisive victory over Banerjee in Bhabanipur — defeating her by 15,105 votes. The win marks his second successive personal triumph over the TMC supremo, having also defeated her in Nandigram in the 2021 assembly polls.

“He has been relentless in his opposition to Mamata ever since leaving the TMC in 2020,” a senior BJP leader said, noting that Adhikari had faced numerous cases from the state government after his defection.

The symbolic significance of his Bhabanipur contest was underlined when Union Home Minister Amit Shah accompanied him while filing his nomination papers in April — widely seen as a signal of the central leadership’s backing.

“Mamata won the last election but was defeated by Suvendu Adhikari. This year, she will lose across Bengal and in Bhabanipur,” Shah had declared at the time.

Adhikari secured 73,917 votes in Bhabanipur against Banerjee’s 58,812. He also retained Nandigram, defeating TMC’s Pabitra Kar by 9,665 votes.

Calling it a “historic victory”, Adhikari said the result marked “a victory of Bengal, a victory of Hindutva, and a victory of Modiji.”

However, BJP insiders said the party is keeping its options open.

Agnimitra Paul, who won Asansol Dakshin, is being seen as a strong contender if the party opts for a woman chief minister. Samik Bhattacharya, meanwhile, is being credited for steering the BJP to its first assembly win in Bengal and remains in the reckoning.

The BJP is expected to convene a meeting of newly elected MLAs in Kolkata within days, after which the legislative party leader — and effectively the next chief minister — will be chosen.

“We expect the central leadership to appoint an observer soon. Once that happens, the process of government formation will move quickly,” a party leader said.

Adhikari’s rise within the BJP has been swift since his dramatic switch from the TMC in December 2020.

Party leaders credit him with shaping the BJP’s aggressive campaign strategy this election, including its focus on Hindu voter consolidation.

That strategy appears to have paid off, with the BJP registering strong gains even in districts with substantial Muslim populations, including Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Howrah and parts of Kolkata.

For now, as Bengal prepares for its first BJP government, all eyes are on whether Suvendu Adhikari’s twin victories over Mamata Banerjee will culminate in the state’s top office.