Suvendu Adhikari to Take Oath as West Bengal Chief Minister After BJP's 2026 Victory

Suvendu Adhikari is set to take oath as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal on Saturday, after the BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, unseating the Trinamool Congress after 15 years. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and around 20 BJP chief ministers from across the country. Adhikari, formerly a top aide to Mamata Banerjee, defected to the BJP in December 2020 and led the party's campaign that culminated in its first government in Bengal.

The TMC suffered a major setback in the elections, losing power and seeing its leader and outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee defeated in both Nandigram in 2021 and Bhabanipur in 2026 by Adhikari. The BJP's seat count rose from 77 in 2021 to 207 in 2026, giving it a clear majority. At a legislative party meeting on Friday, Amit Shah confirmed Adhikari's selection as chief minister, stating that eight proposals were received, all naming him, with no alternative suggested. Shah praised Adhikari as an administrator and fighter who had consistently challenged TMC rule.

Shah framed the BJP's win as a national security milestone, asserting it would curb infiltration and cow smuggling along the Bangladesh border. He dismissed criticism of the campaign as polarisation, calling it a security imperative. Adhikari, 55, becomes the first Chief Minister from rural Bengal in over five decades, hailing from the undivided Medinipur region, like his predecessor Ajoy Mukherjee, who last held office in 1971. West Bengal is now the 21st state under BJP-NDA rule, following Bihar's recent political shift.

The swearing-in ceremony will include the induction of Adhikari's council of ministers. Union ministers and senior BJP leaders are converging in Kolkata for the event, which marks the formal transition of power. The court will resume hearing on Tuesday.