Suvendu served several ministerial portfolios in Mamata’s government and was also a TMC parliamentarian. But he resigned as transport minister and left the party in 2020.
Published: April 27, 2026 7:21 AM IST
New Delhi: The high-octane contest for South Kolkata’s Bhabanipur Assembly seat will witness two political heavyweights, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Suvendu Adhikari and Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Banerjee, face off once again after the 2021 Nandigram contest. To recall, in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Suvendu Adhikari registered an impressive victory over the TMC supremo, defeating her by 1,956 votes. This time, Mamata Banerjee has decided to contest the polls from her home turf, Bhabanipur, while the BJP has fielded Suvendu Adhikari. Political experts are of the opinion that the winner of this prestigious seat could end up becoming the state’s next chief minister.
Suvendu Adhikari was once a close aide of Mamata Banerjee and one of the senior leaders of the Trinamool Congress. On December 19, 2020, Suvendu decided to join the saffron camp. He switched sides during a rally addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Midnapore. Before joining the BJP, Adhikari wrote an open letter to TMC members and heavily criticised the ruling party, saying that TMC is filled with extreme deep rot and malaise.
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The Prestigious Bhabanipur Seat:
It would not be wrong to say that, among the 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal, Bhabanipur is the most watched. If Suvendu manages to clinch victory from this seat, he will have defeated Mamata Banerjee twice, including on her home turf, and strengthened his chances of becoming the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate.
- The Bhabanipur constituency came into existence in 2011 after delimitation
- Bhabanipur is a heavily urban area.
- It has a significant mix of residential and commercial areas of South Kolkata.
- Although it is known as an old Bengali residential area, Bhabanipur always had a sizable number of commercial establishments owned by non-Bengalis.
- Today, several multi-storied housing complexes and slums are also part of it.
- Most residents regard Mamata as the local girl.
- But Suvendu, whose reputation as a giant killer has spread, is no longer an unknown entity.
- The dissatisfaction with Mamata is mostly among the non-Bengali speakers.
- The slum residents remain happy with the help they get from her.
Why the Bhabanipur contest is tough
Bhabanipur is home to multiple populations, including Bengali, Gujarati, Marwari, and Sikh communities. It is extremely important for Mamata Banerje to win Bhabanipur in order to retain her hold over Kolkata. For Suvendu Adhikari, a victory here would be a major achievement, especially after defeating Banerjee in Nandigram in 2021.
The Election Commission has intensified drone surveillance and increased the deployment of paramilitary forces in the Bhabanipur–South Kolkata area. Voting for the second phase will take place on April 29, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
All you need to know about Suvendu Adhikari:
Suvendu Adhikari was a former colleague and once trusted aide of Mamata Banerjee. To recall, he was in the forefront of the Nandigram movement on forced land acquisition by the Left Front government in 2007 and paved the way for the TMC’s massive victory that ended 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal.
During his tenure in TMC, Suvendu enjoyed several ministerial portfolios in Mamata’s government and was also a TMC parliamentarian. But he resigned as transport minister and left the party in 2020.
Why Did Suvendu Leave the Trinamool Congress?
In 2020, when Suvendu Adhikari joined the saffron camp, several reasons were attributed to his departure, but a key factor was said to be Mamata’s decision to empower her nephew Abhishek Banerjee over other old and trusted party colleagues like him.
The TMC has won all three Assembly elections as well as the two by-elections in Bhabanipur in the recent past. Its victory margin ranged between 25,000 and 27,000 in the regular Assembly polls. The vote difference had risen to up to 60,000 in the byelections, with Mamata ensconced in the CM chair.
