legislators are set to meet in Kolkata on Friday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to formally elect their leader, with senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari emerging as the frontrunner to become the party’s first chief minister in West Bengal.
The BJP scripted a historic victory in the recently concluded assembly elections, ending the 15-year rule of the All India Trinamool Congress and dealing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee one of the biggest political setbacks of her career.
Although the BJP has not officially announced its chief ministerial candidate, Adhikari’s political stock has risen sharply after he retained the politically crucial Nandigram seat and also wrested Bhabanipur, considered Banerjee’s stronghold.
The swearing-in ceremony of West Bengal’s first BJP government is scheduled to take place at Brigade Parade Ground on May 9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin and chief ministers from NDA-ruled states are expected to attend the event.
Once regarded as one of Banerjee’s closest aides and a key strategist behind the TMC’s rural expansion, Adhikari joined the BJP in December 2020 and has since emerged as one of the saffron party’s most aggressive campaigners in Bengal.
A senior BJP leader said Adhikari’s sustained political battle against the TMC, strong organisational network and repeated electoral successes against Banerjee have significantly strengthened his claim for the top post.
Party insiders said his victory from Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes is being viewed as both symbolically and strategically significant for the BJP in Bengal politics.
However, the leadership race is not entirely settled. Other names being discussed within party circles include West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, who won the Rashbehari seat.
While Dasgupta is seen by some leaders as an intellectual face capable of balancing governance and political messaging, Bhattacharya is credited with steering the organisation during a critical electoral phase.
Senior BJP leaders maintained that the final decision on the chief ministerial face would ultimately be taken by the party’s central leadership.
