In the recent elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, the BJP won 207 seats.
New Delhi:
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is set to become West Bengal's first chief minister from the party soon, after being unanimously elected leader of the BJP legislature party. Home Minister Amit Shah made the announcement on Friday.
Here are 10 points on this big story:
- Shortly after his election as the legislature party leader, Adhikari went to Raj Bhavan and met Governor R N Ravi to stake his claim to form the government. The Governor invited him to take the oath of office as Chief Minister at the Brigade Parade Ground today.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and chief ministers from other NDA-ruled states are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
- Adhikari, 55, was once a close political aide and organisational figure for Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee. Announcing the decision, Amit Shah said eight proposals had been received, all naming only Suvendu Adhikari. Shah expressed confidence that Adhikari would provide stable governance and meet the expectations of the people of Bengal.
- "I have known Suvendu ji for a long time. He is a fighter. He understands administration, and he has fought TMC at every step," Shah said.
- In his address to BJP legislators and supporters, Adhikari declared, "Bhoi (fear) is out, and bharosa (trust) is in." Adhikari said the people of Bengal had given the BJP a historic mandate and that the party would fulfil all promises made in its election manifesto.
- Adhikari is set to take oath as the ninth chief minister of Bengal, becoming the first in 55 years to lead the state's administration from roots in the districts rather than Kolkata. The last time Bengal had a chief minister from its rural hinterlands was in 1971, when Ajoy Mukherjee -- representing the Congress (Requisitionists), a breakaway faction formed under Indira Gandhi's leadership following the Congress split of 1969 -- assumed office for his third stint as Chief Minister.
- The son of former Union minister Sisir Adhikari, he began his career in the Congress student wing, Chhatra Parishad, at a time when the Left was dominant in Bengal. He later joined the Trinamool Congress where he was one of Mamata Banerjee's most trusted lieutenants before moving to the BJP, where he became one of Mamata Banerjee's strongest opponents.
- In the recent elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, the BJP won 207 seats. The Trinamool Congress secured 80 seats.
- Governor RN Ravi on Thursday dissolved the Bengal Assembly after completion of its term. The current Assembly was established in 2021 after the Trinamool government returned to power for a third consecutive term.
- The dissolution came days after Banerjee alleged large-scale irregularities in the counting process. The Trinamool chief claimed that the mandate "was looted". She further said that she will not resign as Chief Minister. "The question of my resignation does not arise, as we were defeated not by a public mandate but by a conspiracy. I did not lose; I will not go to Lok Bhavan. They can take action as per constitutional norms," she alleged.
