KOLKATA: The BJP's resounding victory in the West Bengal assembly polls came despite the party not having a designated state face. However, the spotlight inevitably turned to Suvendu Adhikari, Mamata Banerjee's lieutenant-turned-bete noire, who boarded a flight to Delhi as saffron celebrations erupted across the state.
Election Results 2026
Vijay's TVK party emerged as a formidable force in Tamil Nadu, with all details available about its journey. In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee lagged behind Suvendu Adhikari after the second round in Bhabanipur. TVK pushed DMK and AIADMK to the margins, while the BJP may oust Mamata in Bengal and retain Assam.
Suvendu, who retained Nandigram and orchestrated the biggest upset of the polls by defeating Mamata in Bhabanipur, embodied the BJP's aggressive campaign. This strategy sought to box the Chief Minister in on issues like "Trinamool goondas" and "politics of Muslim appeasement," ultimately helping decimate the party his father, Sisir Adhikari, had helped establish.
When asked by reporters on Monday evening whether he was the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, Adhikari responded by saying, "There is no change in me... I am not power-hungry."
Political Journey
Suvendu began his political career with the Congress, being elected as a councillor in Kanthi municipality in 1995. He joined the Trinamool Congress in 1998 and won the Contai South assembly seat in 2006. His rise came during the 2007 land agitation against the Left Front government's proposed chemical hub in Nandigram. Suvendu was one of the key organizers of that movement, whose momentum propelled the TMC to power, unseating the Left Front after 34 years. He entered national politics in 2009 with a win in Tamluk, a seat he retained in 2014. In 2016, Suvendu returned to state politics, winning the Nandigram polls on a Trinamool ticket, and joined Mamata's cabinet.
Break with TMC
His break with the TMC came in December 2020 when, amid growing differences with the party, Suvendu joined the BJP. After defeating Mamata in Nandigram in 2021, he became the Leader of Opposition in Bengal. In his new role, he trained his guns on Bangladeshis and Rohingya, and lauded "nationalist Muslims."
As someone who had not been part of the RSS or BJP's ideological traditions, Suvendu's jersey switch was viewed with caution by leaders in the saffron party. However, his admission that he wasn't an "insider" but was "no less devoted to the party," and his seamless equation with BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, helped bridge gaps.
Political Pitch
For the last five years, Suvendu's political pitch focused on corruption, misgovernance, lack of jobs, brain drain, and also Hindutva. On Monday, he said, "All Hindus are united in favour of Narendra Modi... Hindu EVMs mean BJP, Muslim EVMs mean TMC..."
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