The BJP on Monday released its first list of candidates for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, fielding senior leader Suvendu Adhikari from the high-profile Bhabanipur seat — a constituency currently represented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
In a statement, the party said Adhikari would defend Nandigram—the constituency where he defeated Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections while also challenging her in Bhabanipur, the seat she currently represents as an MLA.
“Our Leader of Opposition, Shri Suvendu Adhikari, will contest from Nandigram, where he defeated Mamata Banerjee in 2021, and from Bhabanipur, the constituency she currently represents as an MLA,” the BJP said as quoted by News18.
In 2021, Banerjee took the fight to Adhikari by contesting in Nandigram. However, she lost the seat.
The decision to field Adhikari from the constituency signals BJP’s aggressive strategy to challenge the Trinamool Congress leadership on its home turf.
Friend-turned-foe
Once considered the second most powerful leader in Trinamool Congress, Adhikari saw his influence within the party gradually diminish. The power equation reportedly began to shift with the growing prominence of the CM’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and the entry of poll strategist Prashant Kishor into the party’s organisational structure.
Adhikari, who was widely credited for the success of the Nandigram movement that helped Banerjee rise to power in West Bengal, was reportedly uncomfortable with the new power dynamics and the increasing influence of Kishor and Abhishek within the Trinamool.
Adhikari joined the BJP in 2021. Soon BJP emerged as the principal opposition in the state following the 2021 Assembly elections, Adhikari was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.
He also had disagreements with the Bengal CM over certain organisational decisions, particularly appointments at the district observer level, which further strained ties within the party leadership, according to reports.
Why Bhabanipur matters
Bhabanipur, located in Kolkata, has always been a stronghold of the Bengal CM. Banerjee has represented the constituency multiple times and returned to the Assembly from here in a by-election after losing the Nandigram seat in the 2021 state polls.
The final voter list of the SIR shows that at least 47,000 names were deleted from this seat, with a further 14,154 names under adjudication.
For the ruling party, retaining Bhabanipur is crucial not only for political symbolism but also because it is closely associated with the Chief Minister’s political identity in Kolkata.
According to India Today, Adhikari has chosen Ward 70 in this constituency to set up his war room. The dedicated war room has been established on the ground floor of a house at 8/1B Chakraberiya Road (South) in Ward 70.
From public meetings to media interactions, Adhikari has repeatedly claimed he will defeat Banerjee again.
“I defeated her in Nandigram; this time I will defeat her in Bhabanipur as well. I will make her a former chief minister by a margin of 20,000 votes,” Adhikari has said at several public events.
Bengal will vote in two phases: April 23, April 29. The votes will be counted on May 4.
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