Suvendu Adhikari was named as the Chief Minister of West Bengal on Friday (May 8). The announcement was made after a legislative meeting was held in Kolkata. Here’s all you need to know about him
Published: May 8, 2026 5:43 PM IST
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Suvendu Adhikari, is all set to take up the post of the Chief Minister following a party legislative meeting on Friday (May 8). He defeated former CM Mamata Banerjee from the Bhabanipur seat on May 4.
After years of struggle and active participation in grassroots politics in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari has now ascended to the office of Chief Minister.
From student politics to state Chief Minister
Born into a political family in Kanthi, Suvendu Adhikari was introduced to politics under the guidance of his father, veteran leader Sisir Adhikari. He was also deeply inspired by the ideals of freedom fighter Satish Samanta and former Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee.
Political activism for Suvendu Adhikari began while he was studying at Kanthi Prabhat Kumar College, where he was elected General Secretary twice and also became a member of the Governing Body. He later went on to serve as a councillor of the Kanthi Municipality.
Suvendu Adhikari entered the West Bengal Assembly for the first time in 2006 after winning from the South Kanthi constituency on an All India Trinamool Congress ticket. His active involvement in the 2007 Nandigram movement later gave him a distinct political identity, and he became a prominent leader of the Bhumi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee.
Despite losing the Tamluk parliamentary seat to Lakshman Seth in 2004, Suvendu Adhikari emerged victorious from the constituency in 2009 during the post-Nandigram movement political climate, defeating Seth by about 1.73 lakh votes. He successfully defended the seat again in 2014.
After suffering defeat to CPI(M) leader Lakshman Seth in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, Suvendu Adhikari bounced back in 2009 to win from Tamluk with a massive margin of around 173,000 votes amid strong public backing linked to the Nandigram movement. He repeated the victory in 2014 as well.
Suvendu Adhikari’s victory in West Bengal Assembly election
In the West Bengal Assembly election, Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee from the Bhabanipur seat by a margin of 15,000 votes. The TMC supremo had built a commanding early lead, but it steadily narrowed as counting progressed. By the end of the seventh round, Banerjee was ahead by over 17,000 votes, polling 32,822 against Adhikari’s 15,451 on May 4.
Suvendu Adhikari strengthened his political standing by defeating Mamata Banerjee again in Nandigram with a substantially larger margin than in 2021. He won by 9,665 votes and also handed the All India Trinamool Congress leader a major defeat in her bastion of Bhabanipur by 15,105 votes.
