Suvendu Adhikari to take oath as first BJP Chief Minister of Bengal; decision taken at Legislature Party meeting

KOLKATA: BJP's Suvendu Adhikari will take oath as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. The decision was taken at the BJP Legislature Party meeting held today. With this, he will become the first BJP Chief Minister of the state. At present, he is serving as the Opposition Leader.

The swearing-in ceremony of the first BJP government in West Bengal will be held on Saturday morning at Brigade Parade Ground. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several NDA Chief Ministers are expected to attend the event. After the ceremony, the new Chief Minister will take charge at the old Writers' Building office, which had earlier been vacated by Mamata Banerjee.

Suvendu Adhikari is seen as the key figure behind the BJP’s rise and the Trinamool Congress’s decline in Bengal. In 2016, the BJP had won only three seats in the state and was looking for a strong local leader. Amit Shah identified Suvendu as that leader.

Like Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu also began his political career in the Congress party. He was among the prominent leaders who helped form the Trinamool Congress. He played a major role in the Nandigram movement, which helped end the 34-year Left rule in Bengal. Later, he became one of Mamata Banerjee’s trusted leaders, and his political career grew rapidly.

In 2006, he entered the state assembly after winning from the Kanthi constituency. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he defeated CPM leader Lakshman Seth by 1.7 lakh votes. He retained the seat in 2014 as well. Suvendu played an important role in expanding the Trinamool Congress in districts such as Bankura, Purulia, West Midnapore, Murshidabad, and Malda. In 2016, he won from Nandigram and became a minister in the state government.

However, Suvendu was unhappy with the growing influence of Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee within the party. In 2020, he joined the BJP after reportedly being offered the Chief Minister’s post and relief from cases, including the Saradha chit fund scam.

The 2021 West Bengal Assembly election became a direct political battle between Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari. Mamata left her traditional Bhabanipur seat to contest from Nandigram, Suvendu’s stronghold, but lost the election there. Although Trinamool remained in power, Suvendu helped the BJP win 77 seats in the assembly.

The 55-year-old Suvendu Adhikari is unmarried. His father, Sisir Adhikari, was a Member of Parliament from Kanthi and also served as a minister in the first UPA government.