BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari will become the next Chief Minister of West Bengal, marking the first time the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to form a government in the state after its sweeping Assembly election victory. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday formally announced Adhikari as the elected leader of the BJP legislature party in West Bengal, clearing the way for government formation. The BJP secured a historic mandate by winning 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending decades of dominance by regional and Left parties in the state’s political landscape.
Addressing newly elected BJP MLAs at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre after the announcement, Adhikari described the moment as the beginning of a new political era in Bengal. He raised the slogan “bhoy out, bhorsha in” (fear out, trust in) and promised a government focused on women’s safety, governance and the creation of a “Sonar Bangla”. Thanking the BJP leadership, he described Amit Shah as the “Chanakya of modern India” and credited him for steering the BJP to power in the state for the first time.
“Our leader Narendra Modi has given several guarantees, and the Bharatiya Janata Party government will work to fulfil every one of them. We do not believe in mere words; the BJP believes in delivering through action. We speak less and work more,” Adhikari told party legislators. He said the BJP government would remain committed to the party’s ideology as well as Bengal’s cultural identity and assured that promises made in the manifesto would be fulfilled within the promised timeline.
Projecting the BJP’s victory as a shift in Bengal’s political culture, Adhikari said the focus would now move from electoral politics to governance. “We need to create a Sonar Bangla. We need to make Bengal a safe place for women. Amit Shah said we have been able to remove fear. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given us trust. It is time for bhoy out, bhorsha in. For that, we need to work more and talk less,” he said while addressing legislators and party workers.
The new BJP government is scheduled to take oath tomorrow at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin, Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. Preparations are also underway at Raj Bhavan for the formal process of government formation. Sources said Adhikari is expected to meet the Governor with letters of support from BJP MLAs to formally stake a claim to form the government.
Adhikari had long been considered the frontrunner for the chief minister’s post, particularly after BJP leaders repeatedly promised a “son of the soil” chief minister rooted in Bengal’s linguistic and cultural identity. He delivered one of the most symbolic victories of the election by defeating outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, widely considered her political stronghold. He also retained Nandigram, the constituency associated with the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement that established him as one of Bengal’s most influential political figures.
His political journey reflects Bengal’s changing political dynamics over the past two decades. Once among Mamata Banerjee’s closest associates in the Trinamool Congress, Adhikari played a key role in the Nandigram agitation that contributed to the fall of the Left Front government in 2011. His decision to join the BJP before the 2021 Assembly elections significantly altered the state’s political equations and laid the groundwork for the party’s eventual rise to power.
Congratulatory messages poured in from BJP leaders and chief ministers across the country after the announcement. Amit Shah described the BJP’s Bengal victory as a “historic mandate” and said he had complete faith in Adhikari’s leadership and grassroots connect. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi also congratulated Adhikari and expressed confidence that his leadership would usher in a new phase of governance and development in West Bengal.
