Suvendu Adhikari to become the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal

A BJP delegation led by senior national and state leaders visited West Bengal to discuss government formation. The 55-year-old leader was accompanied by Union ministers Bhupender Yadav, Sukanta Majumdar and Santanu Thakur, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, BJP Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya, and other senior leaders including Dilip Ghosh, Locket Chatterjee and Tapas Roy. They submitted a list of MLAs who would take oath (names not disclosed). The plan reportedly envisages representation from Gorkha, tribal and Dalit Matua communities, with potential names including Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Swapan Dasgupta, Rupa Ganguly, Subrata Thakur, Joyel Murmu and Noman Rai discussed among leaders. Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized priorities such as ending infiltration from Bangladesh, stopping cattle smuggling, border security, women’s safety, and fulfilling the poll manifesto. He framed the 2026 Bengal polls as a gamechanger after 49 years in the wilderness, noting the BJP’s growth since 2014.

The BJP won 77 seats in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in 2021.

In the 2016 elections, the BJP won three assembly seats in West Bengal.

Samik Bhattacharya, who would become BJP Bengal’s state president, won a seat in a 2014 by-poll, marking the party’s first breakthrough in electoral representation in the state.

The article notes that after the 2011 election, the Trinamool Congress defeated the Left in Bengal, marking a major shift in state politics and enabling BJP's later growth.

The Siddhartha Shankar Ray‑led Congress government in West Bengal ended in 1977.

The Congress government led by Siddhartha Shankar Ray began in West Bengal in 1972 and lasted until 1977; it was the last Bengal government to be led by a party that was also in power at the Centre.

The oath ceremony for Suvendu Adhikari as Chief Minister is scheduled for May 9, 2026.

Chief Minister-designate Suvendu Adhikari, accompanied by BJP state leaders Dilip Ghosh, Locket Chatterjee, and Tapas Roy, arrived at Lok Bhavan and met Governor R.N. Ravi to stake claim to form the government. The BJP had won 207 seats in the 294-member Legislative Assembly, while the Trinamool Congress won 80 seats.

Accompanied by BJP state unit leaders Dilip Ghosh, Locket Chatterjee, and Tapas Roy, Adhikari arrived at Lok Bhavan and met Governor R.N. Ravi to stake claim to form the government.

The BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member West Bengal Legislative Assembly, while the Trinamool Congress won 80 seats.