2 weeks ago
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Weeks earlier Suvendu Adhikari defected from the Trinamool Congress to join the BJP successful December 2020, respective elder Trinamool leaders tried to transportation him to stay. But Mr. Adhikari’s adjacent aides knew that helium had made up his mind: helium wanted to become the Chief Minister of West Bengal — an ambition helium could ne'er realise had helium remained with the Trinamool.
Mr. Adhikari was the astir promising of the 2nd procreation of Trinamool leaders until Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee emerged connected the governmental scene. At the property of 27, Abhishek was elected MP from the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha spot successful 2014. By then, Mr. Adhikari had emerged arsenic a salient Trinamool person who challenged the organisational mightiness of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) during the Nandigram protests.
Mr. Adhikari comes from a governmental household successful West Bengal’s coastal Purba Medinipur district. His begetter Sishir Adhikari was associated with the Congress and past with the Trinamool erstwhile the enactment was acceptable up successful 1998.
It was the combat against onshore acquisition astatine Singur and Nandigram that catapulted Ms. Banerjee and the Trinamool to powerfulness successful 2011, ending 34 years of Left Front regularisation successful West Bengal. Mr. Adhikari was astatine the forefront of these protests. From the victims of Nandigram shooting successful 2007 to those killed successful communal unit successful Murshidabad successful 2025, galore families of victims accidental that Mr. Adhikari stood by them erstwhile fewer others did.
Growing influence
After the Trinamool came to powerfulness successful 2011, Mr. Adhikari started extending his governmental power crossed southbound and cardinal Bengal, bringing MLAs, civic bodies and strongholds of the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress into the Trinamool’s fold. In 2016, helium joined the Cabinet headed by Ms. Banerjee and became 1 of the astir influential Ministers, successful complaint of the Transport and Environment Department.
The astir challenging portion of Mr. Adhikari’s governmental travel came aft helium near the Trinamool. After defeating Ms. Banerjee successful Nandigram successful the 2021 Assembly polls by a borderline of 1,956 votes, helium faced a barrage of transgression cases by the West Bengal Police.
The State constabulary filed truthful galore cases against him that the Calcutta High Court, successful an unprecedented order, directed that nary caller FIRs beryllium filed against Mr. Adhikari and stayed proceedings successful each pending cases. The affidavit filed by the BJP person earlier the Election Commission successful 2026 referred to 29 cases.
By his ain admission, the BJP person had to attack the Calcutta High Court connected 111 occasions aft the constabulary denied him support to clasp nationalist meetings. In run rallies, helium repeatedly said West Bengal would spell the mode of Bangladesh if the Trinamool were to beryllium voted to powerfulness again successful 2026.
Mr. Adhikari has not been a alien to controversies. His sanction figured successful the Narada sting videos successful which respective Trinamool leaders were seen accepting currency connected camera earlier the 2016 Assembly polls. More recently, aft the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, helium triggered different contention erstwhile helium said determination was nary request for the BJP Minority Morcha arsenic Muslims did not ballot for the BJP. If Ms. Banerjee was a pupil of the Left Front’s marque of politics, Mr. Adhikari is simply a pupil of Ms. Banerjee’s — populist, relentless, unforgiving, and unafraid to deploy the administrative apparatus against governmental adversaries. Once her closest aide, helium went connected to go her fiercest rival.
By defeating Ms. Banerjee successful her Bhabanipur bastion by 15,115 votes successful the 2026 Assembly election, Mr. Adhikari cemented his assertion to the Chief Minister’s station successful West Bengal.
At 57, Mr. Adhikari volition instrumentality complaint of West Bengal astatine 1 of its astir challenging moments — erstwhile the State is successful urgent request of manufacture and jobs, its societal cloth profoundly polarised, and concerns implicit instrumentality and bid persist. One of West Bengal’s astir fashionable leaders, Mr. Adhikari brings decades of electoral acquisition and immoderate administrative experience. But helium volition request sizeable governmental accomplishment and far-sightedness to enactment the State backmost connected track.
