From Municipal Councillor to CM of West Bengal: Journey of Suvendu Adhikari

Darwin, 09 May : Suvendu Adhikari, a son of Purba Medinipur district, is set to become the Chief Minister of West Bengal after three decades in politics, which he began in the early 1990s. His political career started with the Indian National Congress, with which he remained associated for most of that decade.

His first significant political success came in Kanthi municipality, where he became a councillor in 1995 and later the head of the municipality.

In 2006, he won the Kanthi South seat and entered the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for the first time. He will be the first chief minister from outside Kolkata since Ajay Mukherjee of Purba Medinipur, who held the post in 1967.

The previous three chief ministers—Bidhanchandra Roy, Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, and Prafulla Chandra Sen—had roots in present-day Bangladesh. Although Bidhanchandra Roy was not born there, his father was born in Satkhira.

Suvendu joined the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 1998, during its inception. For the last decade of the long struggle led by Mamata Banerjee against the CPI(M)-led Left Front, Suvendu was her close ally.

Mamata Banerjee’s struggle spread across various regions of West Bengal, with Suvendu leading the efforts in Nandigram, Purba Medinipur. The CPI(M) Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee tried to acquire land to invite an Indonesian industrial group to set up a chemical factory.

In response, the ‘Bhumiucched Pratirodh Committee’ (Land Eviction Resistance Committee) was formed, which clashed with the CPI(M) administration roughly between 2007 and 2010.

Suvendu Adhikari was at the forefront of this struggle. The state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) accused him of supplying arms to Maoists to help them agitate against the Left Front government.

In 2010, the Indonesian industrial group officially withdrew from West Bengal due to the failed land acquisition, bringing Suvendu’s name into the spotlight alongside Mamata Banerjee. He firmly established his political stature in West Bengal.

In 2009, he was elected to the Indian Parliament from the Tamluk constituency in Purba Medinipur. Before becoming a state minister, he served as Minister of State for Rural Development in the UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He completed his first term in the Lok Sabha (2009–2014) but did not complete his second term (2014–2016), as he returned to state politics and contested the Nandigram seat in Purba Medinipur in 2016. His victory in Nandigram earned him a place in the West Bengal Cabinet.

Suvendu joined the second TMC ministry as Transport Minister and later handled the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources from 2018 to 2020.

It was around this time that tensions began between Suvendu and the TMC, especially with Abhishek Banerjee, primarily due to a power struggle.

Reports also suggest financial conflicts in the Haldia port area of Purba Medinipur contributed. Eventually, Suvendu left the TMC.

His problems intensified due to allegations of corruption. In 2014, journalist Matthew Samuel exposed covertly filmed videos showing several TMC leaders, including Suvendu, receiving money. Two central Indian intelligence agencies filed cases against him because he was seen accepting cash on camera.

After news surfaced in recent days that Suvendu might become Chief Minister, the videos resurfaced on social media. This is expected to continue affecting him politically. Additionally, his name is linked to West Bengal’s notorious ‘Chit Fund Scams,’ involving promises of high returns on investments that were never repaid.

On December 19, 2020, Suvendu Adhikari joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He openly identifies himself as an ally of Amit Shah, whom he considers his ‘godfather.’

Some senior BJP leaders have expressed concerns about this. One senior leader, who came from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the BJP, said: “Our only concern with Suvendu is that he grew under Mamata Banerjee’s mentorship.

He has no deep organizational ties with us and usually identifies himself as Amit Shah’s man. He also does not seem keen to blend fully with the organization. We are slightly concerned about the relationship between the organization and the government.”

Suvendu’s father, Shishir Adhikari, a prominent Congress leader from Medinipur, and his brothers have followed a similar path, moving from Congress to TMC and then to BJP.

After joining BJP, Suvendu achieved two major political successes: defeating Mamata Banerjee twice—first in Nandigram in 2021 and then in her own constituency of Bhabanipur in 2026. However, in both cases, the TMC challenged the vote counts, and the 2021 case is still in the Supreme Court.

Suvendu remains unmarried, and his two brothers, Divyendu and Soumendu, are also in politics.

Another major criticism against Suvendu is that he reportedly campaigned along communal lines in 2026.

After his election victory, he was heard declaring it as a “Hindu victory” and repeatedly stated that he would deport illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

While many say things in public meetings that they later forget, Suvendu’s actions remain the key to watch.