From TMC strongman to BJP’s CM frontrunner: How Suvendu Adhikari broke Mamata Banerjee’s political fortress and emerged as the face of the BJP in Bengal

As the results for West Bengal elections were declared yesterday (4th May), BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari scripted history by defeating TMC Supremo and incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a second consecutive time. Adhikari, who was once seen as a potential heir to Banerjee, is perhaps the only politician in the country to have defeated a sitting Chief Minister in two consecutive elections. The West Bengal assembly poll results brought an humiliating end to TMC’s 15-year rule in the state. However, what added to the party’s humiliation was Banerjee’s loss to Adhikari in her home turf, the Bhabanipur assembly seat. This is Banerjee’s second defeat at the hands of Adhikari, who earlier defeated her in the 2021 state assembly elections at the Nandigram assembly seat by 1956 votes. This time, Adhikari defeated Banerjee in the Bhabanipur constituency with a substantial margin of 15,105 votes. Addressing the media after his win, Adhikari said that Mamata Banerjee’s defeat marks her retirement from politics. “This was very important. Defeating Mamata Banerjee was crucial. This is Mamata Banerjee’s retirement from politics… This time, too, she lost by over 15,000 votes,” Adhikari said. He termed his win a victory for Hindutva. Adhikari defeating Banerjee in Bhabanipur is no small feat as the seat has been a TMC bastion since 2011, when the party first came to power in the state. Bhabanipur’s electoral mandate against Banerjee marks a significant political shift in the state. Mamata Banerjee’s struggle in accepting defeat Mamata Banerjee was devastated seeing herself and her party losing both power and ground in the state to the BJP. Instead of gracefully accepting people’s mandate, Banerjee alleged large-scale foul play and accused the BJP of “looting” seats. Speaking to the media, Banerjee lashed out at the BJP and the Election Commission of India. She alleged that more than 100 seats were “looted” by the BJP. Banerjee, a seasoned politician with an envious political career, failed to see the undercurrents change and acted like a sore loser after seeing the poll results. Banerjee is not alone in blaming for her humiliating electoral defeat on the BJP and the Election Commission; she is joined by the opposition parties as well as the Left-Liberal cabal. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose party is struggling for its survival in West Bengal’s political landscape, also accused the BJP of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission. Suvendu Adhikari’s rise as the face of the BJP in the state Suvendu Adhikari is one of the three sons of veteran politician and former Union Minister Sisri Adhikari. Suvendu Adhikari has been active in politics since his student days. He joined the Trinamool Congress in 1998, shortly after the party was formed. Suvendu Adhikari played a key role in cementing the party’s base in West Bengal and brought the party several electoral wins in the state. The Adhikari family dominated the politics of Purba Medinipur and surrounding districts and repeatedly won Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats in the area. After spearheading the anti-land acquisition agitation, Suvendu Adhikari emerged as a strong leader within the party and came to be projected as Mamata Banerjee’s political successor. Suvendu Adhikari was once a trusted lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee However, differences arose between Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari after Banerjee appointed her nephew Abhishek Banerjee as her second-in-command, which quite expectedly irked Adhikari. In a major political surprise, Adhikari snapped ties with the TMC and joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 state assembly elections. The bitter fallout between Banerjee and Adhikari came to the fore on many occasions when two political stalwarts exchanged barbs with each other. In the 2021 assembly elections, even though the BJP lost to the TMC, Suvendu Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee at the Nandigram constituency seat. Adhikari stood by his new party even as the political violence was unleashed on the BJP cadres to discourage them. He provided the much-needed strength and support to the local BJP cadre at a time when it was being targeted and persecuted for its association with the party. Suvendu Adhikari has reportedly vowed never to return to the TMC. In the years to follow, Adhikari provided the much-needed support to the BJP cadres in the state and helped strengthen the party at the ground level, the results of which were seen in the poll results yesterday. The BJP has not yet made any official announcement regarding the CM candidate in the state, but Suvendu Adhikari undoubtedly remains a front-runner for the position.