Suvendu Adhikari to Be West Bengal’s First BJP Chief Minister
Moneylife Digital Team 08 May 2026
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari was on Friday elected leader of the BJP legislature party in West Bengal, clearing the way for him to become the first chief minister (CM) from the party in the state. The announcement was made by Union home minister Amit Shah after a meeting of newly elected BJP MLAs and senior party leaders in Kolkata.
 
According to reports, Mr Adhikari’s name was proposed unanimously during the legislature party meeting.
 
“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,” Mr Shah says after the meeting.
 
Mr Adhikari is now set to head the first BJP government in West Bengal, marking a major political shift in a state long dominated by regional parties and the Left.
 
The swearing-in ceremony of the new BJP government will be held at the Brigade Parade Ground on 9 May 2026 in the presence of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin, Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states.
 
Mr Adhikari is expected to reach Lok Bhavan on Friday evening before proceeding to Raj Bhavan with letters of support from BJP MLAs to formally stake claim to form the government.
 
Governor RN Ravi dissolved the state assembly on Thursday, clearing the legal path for the formation of the new administration.
 
Mr Adhikari will become the ninth chief minister of West Bengal and only the second chief minister from Purba Medinipur after former CM Ajoy Mukherjee, who hailed from Tamluk and served three terms when Medinipur was still an undivided district.
 
A former close associate of Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, Mr Adhikari joined the BJP in December 2020 after quitting the TMC.
 
He rose to prominence after defeating Ms Banerjee in the high-profile Nandigram Assembly contest in 2021. More recently, he won the Bhabanipur seat, considered Ms Banerjee’s political stronghold, by a margin of more than 15,000 votes.
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