(Image source from: Daily-sun.com)
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari will take on the role of chief minister of West Bengal, making him the first BJP politician to lead the government there. On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah officially declared Suvendu Adhikari as the chosen leader of the BJP's legislative group in West Bengal. This announcement is a significant achievement for the BJP in Bengal, a place where they have tried for many years to remove local and leftist parties from power. Adhikari’s rise comes just after the BJP won decisively in the assembly elections, capturing 207 out of the 293 seats it competed for in the 294-member assembly. The new BJP administration in Bengal will be sworn in at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground tomorrow, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin, various union ministers, and chief ministers from BJP-led states present. Adhikari had been viewed as a leading candidate for the chief minister position, especially since BJP leaders focused on how Bengal would get a “son of the soil” chief minister connected to its local culture and language.
Suvendu Adhikari achieved a highly symbolic victory by defeating outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, a constituency that has always been considered her safe haven in politics. Adhikari also held on to Nandigram, a constituency linked to the 2007 anti-land acquisition protests that made him one of the most significant political figures in Bengal. While speaking in Nandigram earlier this week, Adhikari mentioned he would give up one of his two seats within 10 days, but made it clear that the final choice would be made by the BJP leaders. “I will remember my duties toward the people of Bhabanipur and Nandigram,” he said, as fans urged him not to depart from Nandigram, which he often calls his political “bhadrasan” or fortress. Adhikari’s political ascent reflects the shifting political atmosphere in Bengal. He was once a close ally of Banerjee in the Trinamool Congress and played an important role in the Nandigram protest that ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule in 2011. His move to the BJP just before the 2021 assembly elections significantly changed Bengal's political scene and paved the way for the rise of the saffron party to power.
Speaking to party members after the BJP’s victory, Adhikari referred to this moment as the “real change” in Bengal’s politics. “I was a part of the 2011 poribartan, and now I am involved in the true change,” he stated. He also expressed confidence about the BJP's long-term prospects in the state, asserting that the party plans to operate in a manner “so that the BJP government in Bengal lasts for 100 years”.
