Suvendu Adhikari (Bengali: শুভেন্দু অধিকারী, ; born 15 December 1970) is an Indian politician who is serving as the 9th Chief Minister of West Bengal since 9 May 2026. He is the first chief minister of West Bengal belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is the second chief minister from Medinipur after Ajoy Mukherjee.
Adhikari began his political journey as a member of the Indian National Congress in 1995, and later joined the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in 1998. He was first elected as to the state legislature of West Bengal from Kanthi Dakshin in 2006. Later, he was elected to the lower house of Indian Parliament representing Tamluk in 2009, and re-elected in 2014. He returned to the state legislature in 2016, after winning from Nandigram. Adhikari became a minister in the second Mamata Banerjee-led state government, serving as overseeing the department of Transport from 2016 to 2020, department of Irrigation and Water Resources from 2018 to 2020, and department of Environment from 2018 to 2020.
After disagreements with the party, he resigned from various positions, including ministership in state government and membership of the state legislature. He later left Trinamool Congress, and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was re-elected again from Nandigram 2021 defeating Mamata Banerjee. After the election, the BJP became the principle opposition in the state legislature, and Adhikari was elected as the leader of opposition by BJP legislators.
In 2026, he contested simultaneously from Bhabanipur and Nandigram, and won both the constituencies. In this election, the BJP secured a landslide victory; Adhikari was re-elected as the leader of legislative party of BJP in the state, and subsequently took oath as the chief minister of West Bengal. He retained Bhabanipur constituency, and vacated Nandigram.
Early life and education Adhikari was born on 15 December 1970 in a Bengali Brahmin Gaudiya Vaishnavite family to Sisir Adhikari and Gayatri Bhattacharjee at Karkuli in Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal. Sisir Adhikari is a politician, and former Minister of State in Second Manmohan Singh ministry and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kanthi constituency in 2019. Adhikari is unmarried. He has two younger brothers Dibyendu Adhikari, Member of Legislative Assembly from Egra and Soumendu Adhikari, Member of Parliament from Kanthi.
In the 1980s, he was enrolled in Kanthi Prabhat Kumar College, Vidyasagar University. Adhikari received a Master of Arts degree in Environmental studies from Rabindra Bharati University in the year 2011.
Early political career Entry into politics and initial years Adhikari was first elected as a councillor from Indian National Congress in the Kanthi Municipality in 1995. In 2006, Adhikari was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Kanthi Dakshin constituency. He also became the Chairman of Kanthi Municipality in the same year.
Nandigram movement and rise within Trinamool Congress
In 2007, Adhikari spearheaded the anti-land acquisition movement in the Nandigram. He led the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee. The ruling Left Front government in West Bengal planned to acquire 10,000 acres of land in the village to set up a special economic zone. This movement catapulted Mamata Banerjee to the centre-stage of Bengali politics. The state CID alleged that Adhikari had supplied arms to the Maoists to wage an armed movement against the state government. After Adhikari's success in Nandigram, Banerjee made him the party's observer (in-charge) of the Jangal Mahal i.e. Paschim Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura districts. He was successful in expanding the party's base in these districts.
Member of Parliament In 2009, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tamluk constituency. He defeated his nearest rival Lakshman Seth of Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of approximately 173,000 votes. As member of parliament, Adhikari became member of various committees. He was part of the Standing Committee on Industry from 2009 to 2014. Later he became part of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice from 2014 to 2016, and member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas from 2014 to 2016. In 2011, he was made the president of the Trinamool Youth Congress, the youth wing of the party. During this time, Mamata Banerjee launched a parallel youth wing of the party named "All India Trinamool Yuva", which was led by her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. Suvendu was replaced by Saumitra Khan in 2013, and later, Yuva was merged with Trinamool Youth Congress, and Abhishek Banerjee was made its president.
Re-entry to state legislature and minister in the state government In the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Adhikari was pitted against Abdul Kadir Sheikh of the Left Front – Indian National Congress alliance in Nandigram constituency. After getting elected, he resigned as an MP from Tamluk constituency. He was sworn in as the Minister of Transport in the Second Mamata Banerjee ministry on 27 May 2016. During this time, he headed three major departments, namely, the department of Transport from 2016 to 2020, the department of Irrigation and Water Resources from 2018 to 2020, and department of Environment from 2018 to 2020.
During his tenure as minister for Transport, he directed the procurement of hundreds of new vehicles and modernisation of the existing fleet of State Transport Undertakings. At times of labour disruptions and strikes called by trade unions, he held meetings and negotiations. Besides, as minister for Irrigation, he also visited flood prone areas for making preparations and devising plans. He also frequently held meetings with local representatives to understand the problems and devise plans to mitigate flood-related issues. However, during his later days as minister, conflict between him and chief minister Mamata Banerjee surfaced. According to reports by Anandabazar Patrika, Adhikari wanted some reforms in the public transport sector. However, those proposals were rejected, and Mamata Banerjee even directed officials to not send any department related documents to Adhikari.
Rift within Trinamool Congress and entry into Bharatiya Janata Party Rift between Adhikari and Mamata Banerjee started surfacing since 2019. On many events of Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari avoided attendance. After the poor electoral performance of the Trinamool Congress in the 2019 elections, the party abolished the observer position. Suvendu, at that time, was the observer of multiple districts, including Murshidabad, Maldaha, Uttar Dinajpur, and many other districts in the Jungle Mahals region.
On 26 November 2020, Adhikari stepped down from the post of chairman of Hooghly River Bridge Commission (HRBC), a statutory body under the Government of West Bengal. He also resigned as West Bengal Transport Minister on 27 November 2020. He had tendered his resignation to the speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly as MLA on 16 December 2020 which was not accepted by the speaker initially on grounds of technicality. However, it was eventually accepted on 21 December 2020. On 17 December 2020 he resigned from the primary membership of All India Trinamool Congress. On 19 December 2020, he joined Bharatiya Janata Party in presence of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Adhikari's defection was reportedly caused due his rivalry with Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who was being groomed as her heir-apparent. His influence in Trinamool Congress led to further defections, and many of his followers joined the BJP later.
2021 elections He defeated the sitting chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram assembly seat in 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election by 1,956 votes. Mamata Banerjee has filed an election petition in Calcutta High Court challenging the verdict of Nandigram.
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal (2021–2026)
Adhikari served as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from May 2021 until the conclusion of the Assembly term in May 2026. He was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in the legislative assembly on 10 May, and his appointment was announced by then Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. After defeating the incumbent chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram constituency, his stature rose in the politics of West Bengal.
Legislative opposition BJP legislators under his leadership repeatedly protested inside the Assembly over allegations relating to political violence, corruption, law and order, recruitment irregularities, and communal tensions. During the 17th assembly, Adhikari along with many other opposition legislators were suspended from Assembly sessions.
Response to post-poll violence After the conclusion of the 2021 elections, large scale violence took place across West Bengal, and numerous BJP workers and volunteers were targeted. During this time, Adhikari emerged as one of the principal opposition voices regarding the incidents of alleged post-poll violence reported from several parts of the state. He also played a significant role in documenting complaints related to the violence and supported legal petitions seeking judicial intervention. Adhikari demanded investigations by central agencies and sought compensation and rehabilitation for affected party workers. The Calcutta High Court subsequently ordered investigations into several incidents linked to post-poll violence and even constituted a court-monitored process in certain cases. He led a delegation of the violence affected victims to meet the Governor, however, he was blocked by the state administration. Adhikari organised visits to affected districts and offered relief money for the damages during the violence.
Sandeshkhali agitation
Adhikari has been a major opposition voice concerning the unrest and allegations of atrocities in Sandeshkhali and become became the face of BJP's campaign over the unrest. Through press conferences, Assembly protests, social media campaigns, and visits to affected areas, he consistently highlighted allegations made by local residents; bringing national political attention to Sandeshkhali. He repeatedly attempted to visit the affected region, leading to confrontations with the police and the state administration. On several occasions he was detained while travelling to the area. Later, after intervention by the Calcutta High Court, Adhikari was permitted to visit Sandeshkhali. Specifically, he was allowed to visit two areas in Sandeshkhali, namely, Jeliapara and Halderpara. During his visit, he and his fellow legislator Sankar Ghosh met local residents and women protesters who narrated alleged experiences of intimidation and abuse. After the visit, he described the situation as "horrific" and an example of "complete lawlessness". Later, he arranged BJP membership drive in Sandeshkhali, and criticised dominance of minorities while urging for "Hindu Unity".
2024 Indian general election Among the BJP leaders in Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari emerged as one of the central figures of the party's campaign in 2024 Indian general election in West Bengal. Adhikari's regional network played an important role in maintaining the BJP's strength in parts of East Midnapore during the election. According to reports from The Statesman, BJP had given Adhikari a "free hand" during the Lok Sabha campaign, and he had major influence over candidate selection and campaign management in multiple constituencies. However, after the result, the BJP was reduced to 12 seats; 6 less compared to its 2019 performance. Many leaders within the BJP targeted Adhikari's approach, and his interference in the candidate selection. Adhikari, however, alleged that electoral irregularities and "false voting" had affected the party's prospects in several constituencies.
Abhaya agitation
2026 elections