Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the Chief Minister of West Bengal at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground after the BJP secured a historic victory in the 2026 Assembly elections.
His elevation marked a watershed moment in Bengal politics, where the BJP, once considered politically marginal in the state, finally formed a government after years of aggressive expansion.
The 57-year-old leader was unanimously chosen as the BJP Legislature Party leader after the party swept large parts of Bengal, particularly in regions where political violence, identity politics, and anti-incumbency sentiments had intensified over the years.
For many BJP supporters, Adhikari’s swearing-in symbolised not merely a change in government, but the collapse of a political structure that had dominated Bengal since 2011.
The man who defeated Mamata Banerjee twice
Suvendu Adhikari’s stature within Bengal politics sharply rose after he defeated Mamata Banerjee in the high-profile Nandigram battle during the 2021 Assembly elections.
That election had transformed him into the BJP’s most recognisable Bengali face and the principal challenger to Mamata’s dominance.
Five years later, he repeated the feat in even more dramatic fashion.
In the 2026 Assembly elections, Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, considered one of the safest and most symbolic strongholds of the Trinamool Congress. He won the seat by over 15,000 votes, delivering one of the biggest political shocks in recent Bengal history.
Simultaneously, he retained his influence in Nandigram by defeating TMC candidate Pabitra Kar.
These victories cemented his image as the BJP’s undisputed face in Bengal and virtually sealed his claim to the Chief Minister’s post after the party’s electoral sweep.
From TMC’s most powerful organiser to BJP’s Bengal face
Before joining the BJP in December 2020, Adhikari was widely viewed as the second-most influential leader in the Trinamool Congress after Mamata Banerjee herself.
He played a crucial role in expanding TMC’s organisational strength across rural Bengal and was often described as Mamata Banerjee’s most dependable political troubleshooter. At the same time, Suvendu Adhikari cultivated the image of an unapologetic Hindu leader, frequently invoking civilisational and religious themes in his speeches, a positioning that increasingly distinguished him within the TMC and reportedly made sections of the party leadership uncomfortable.
However, his relationship with the TMC leadership deteriorated over time as the influence of Abhishek Banerjee within the party steadily increased. Many described the growing internal power struggle, combined with ideological differences and Adhikari’s rising independent mass appeal, as one of the major reasons behind his eventual exit from the TMC.
In November 2020, he resigned from the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, where he held the Transport and Irrigation portfolios. Weeks later, he formally joined the BJP in what was then considered one of the biggest political setbacks for the ruling TMC ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections.
His defection dramatically altered Bengal’s political landscape and accelerated BJP’s transformation from an opposition force into a serious contender for power.
Roots in Congress and rise through Nandigram
Born into a politically influential family in East Midnapore, Suvendu Adhikari began his political journey through the Congress party.
He was elected as a councillor of Kanthi Municipality in 1995 and gradually expanded his influence in the coastal belt of Bengal.
The Adhikari family later aligned with Mamata Banerjee after she formed the Trinamool Congress in 1998.
His father, Sisir Adhikari, served as a three-term Member of Parliament and also held ministerial responsibilities in the UPA government.
Suvendu himself served two terms as MP from Tamluk during the UPA era.
However, the defining turning point in his political career came during the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram.
At the time, the Left Front government faced massive resistance over proposed industrial land acquisition in the area. Adhikari emerged as one of the most prominent leaders of the agitation and became a central face of the movement against the CPI(M)-led government.
The Nandigram movement significantly weakened the Left Front’s political standing and ultimately contributed to the end of its 34-year rule in Bengal in 2011.
Many regard Nandigram as the birthplace of Suvendu Adhikari’s mass political identity.
Electoral rise and expanding influence
In 2009, Adhikari defeated veteran CPI(M) leader Lakshman Seth from the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency by a massive margin of 1.73 lakh votes.
He retained the seat again in 2014, reinforcing his dominance in East Midnapore and surrounding regions.
In 2016, he shifted to state politics and won the Nandigram Assembly seat. Following the victory, he was inducted into Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet as Transport Minister.
By then, he had already established himself as one of the strongest mass leaders in Bengal outside Kolkata.
His organisational capabilities, aggressive campaigning style, and grassroots network made him indispensable within the TMC for several years.
Controversies and political aggression
Adhikari’s political journey has also been marked by controversies and investigations.
Despite sustained attacks from rivals, Adhikari steadily consolidated his position within the BJP and became the central figure in the party’s Bengal campaign after 2021.
As Leader of Opposition, he adopted an openly combative approach against the Mamata Banerjee government both inside and outside the Assembly.
He aggressively raised issues such as political violence, infiltration from Bangladesh, alleged corruption, demographic change in border districts, and attacks on BJP workers.
Over time, his rhetoric and campaign style transformed him into one of the BJP’s most influential regional leaders nationally.
BJP’s Bengal breakthrough and Adhikari’s role
The BJP’s 2026 victory in West Bengal is widely being seen as the culmination of years of organisational expansion, anti-incumbency against the TMC, and intense political polarisation across the state.
However, within the BJP cadre, much of the credit is being attributed to Adhikari’s relentless grassroots mobilisation and his ability to consolidate anti-TMC sentiment.
His victory over Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur carried both symbolic and political significance. For BJP supporters, it represented the defeat of the very political establishment Adhikari once helped build.
One of Suvendu Adhikari’s biggest political strengths is that he understands the Trinamool Congress from the inside. Unlike most BJP leaders in Bengal who fought the TMC entirely from the opposition benches, Adhikari spent over two decades building the party at the grassroots alongside Mamata Banerjee. He was deeply involved in the party’s rural expansion, booth-level organisation, cadre management, election strategy, and mobilisation networks across districts.
From the functioning of local syndicates and district power structures to the internal rivalries and decision-making processes within the TMC, Adhikari has first-hand knowledge of how the party operated during its rise to power and subsequent dominance in Bengal.
This insider understanding played a major role in BJP’s ability to strategically penetrate TMC strongholds, weaken its local organisational grip, and build a parallel grassroots structure across the state.
The biggest challenge begins now
While Suvendu Adhikari’s political rise has been remarkable, his biggest challenge may begin now.
As the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal, he inherits a deeply polarised political environment marked by allegations of post-poll violence, administrative mistrust, and intense ideological divisions.
Many view him as the leader who ended TMC’s dominance and ushered in a new political era in Bengal. Others, however, argue that the confrontational style of politics in the state may intensify further under his leadership.
Unmarried and holding a postgraduate degree from Netaji Subhas Open University, Adhikari now enters what is undoubtedly the defining phase of his political career, governing the state whose political transformation he helped engineer from both inside and outside the Trinamool Congress.
