Suvendu Adhikari, a former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader who previously served as one of Mamata Banerjee’s key political figures, is set to become West Bengal’s first BJP chief minister, according to multiple reports. The articles describe his political trajectory from Congress to the TMC and then to the BJP, highlighting his role in opposition politics and his influence in coastal West Bengal.
The Times of India notes that Adhikari comes from an established political family, with his father Sisir Adhikari having served in both the West Bengal Assembly and the Lok Sabha, and his brother Dibyendu Adhikari later joining the BJP in 2024 after serving as a TMC MP. It also says Adhikari began his political career with Congress around municipal polls in 1995, moved to the TMC in 1998 when the party was formed, and quickly rose within the TMC.
The Hindu and Business Standard focus on his reputation for leading protests and opposing the previous government, portraying his shift from a TMC “mentee” or strongman to the BJP’s public face in Bengal as a significant change in the state’s political landscape.
