The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has officially announced Suvendu Adhikari as the next Chief Minister of West Bengal. The decision was revealed on Friday by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah following a meeting with the party’s newly elected legislators.
A total of 207 victorious BJP lawmakers attended the meeting, where Adhikari was unanimously chosen as the leader of the BJP legislative party. According to party sources, the swearing-in ceremony for the new government will take place in Kolkata on Saturday.
Political observers had long speculated that Adhikari was the frontrunner for the chief minister’s post, given his growing influence in West Bengal politics and his electoral successes against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in recent years.
After defeating Banerjee in the high-profile Nandigram contest in 2021, Adhikari once again secured a major victory in the recent election, winning the Bhabanipur constituency by a large margin while also retaining his traditional stronghold of Nandigram.
The BJP’s central leadership believes Adhikari played a key role in expanding the party’s political base in West Bengal. As a result, the responsibility of leading the state government has now been entrusted to him.
Party insiders said that following his election as legislative party leader, Adhikari is expected to formally stake claim to form the government before the Governor.