• Source:JND

West Bengal New CM: Days after BJP's resounding victory in the West Bengal Assembly Election 2026, party leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party, paving the way for him to become the next Bengal chief minister, replacing Mamata Banerjee after 15 years. Suvendu will be the first BJP CM of the state since independence.

Adhikari's name was proposed by Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya and senior party leader Dilip Ghosh and was accepted by all 207 recently elected MLAs present in the meeting at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in Kolkata. Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced Adhikari's election and described it as a unanimous endorsement.

"Eight proposals were received, and all of them had only one name. Adequate time was given for a second name, but no other name was proposed. Therefore, I announce Suvendu Adhikari as the chief minister of West Bengal," Shah said after the meeting.

Adhikari, a former close aide of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who switched over to BJP in December 2020, emerged as the central face of the saffron party's campaign in Bengal and played a key role in expanding its organisational base across the state.

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His political stature rose sharply after he defeated Banerjee in the high-voltage Nandigram contest in the 2021 assembly elections. In 2026, he again defeated Banerjee, this time in her Bhabanipur seat.

Meanwhile, if media reports are to be believed, Suvendu may get two deputy CMs, with one of them a woman. Among the frontrunners for the woman deputy CM post, BJP MLA from Asansol Dakshin, Agnimitra Paul, is leading the race, while Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh is reportedly considered for the second deputy CM post.

'Bhoi (fear) is out, Bharosa (trust) is in,' says Suvendu Adhikari

Asserting that the BJP government in the state would fulfil all promises made in the party's election manifesto, Adhikari said that the atmosphere of fear in Bengal had ended, adding that the state would now move towards an era of "trust".

"Bhoi is out and, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has said, bharosa is in," Adhikari said amid loud cheers from party MLAs and supporters. "The people of Bengal have given us a historic mandate. We will fulfil all the promises made in the BJP's poll manifesto in Bengal," Adhikari added.

Suvendu Adhikari Oath Ceremony:

Adhikari, one of the principal architects of the BJP's rise in Bengal, is set to be sworn in as the ninth chief minister of the state at a grand ceremony at Brigade Parade Ground here on Saturday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and several senior BJP leaders are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

ALSO READ: Suvendu Adhikhari To Be New Bengal CM: How Nandigram Movement In 2007 Catapulted BJP Leader's Political Career

The BJP's victory in the assembly polls has ended the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule in the state and marked the saffron party's first ascent to power in West Bengal. The BJP won 207 seats in the recently concluded polls, while the TMC only managed to grab 80 seats in the 294-member assembly.


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