Suvendu Adhikari is an Indian politician born on 15 December 1970 into a Bengali Brahmin family. He will serve as the 9th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 9 May 2026.
๐ Early Life and Education
Adhikari was born to Sisir Adhikari and Gayatri Adhikari at Karkuli in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal. He received a Master of Arts degree from Rabindra Bharati University in 2011. Adhikari is unmarried.
๐ณ๏ธ Political Beginnings
He was first elected as a councillor from Indian National Congress in the Kanthi Municipality in 1995. In 2006, he was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Kanthi Dakshin constituency. He also became the Chairman of Kanthi Municipality in the same year.
๐พ Nandigram Movement
In 2007, Adhikari spearheaded the anti-land-acquisition movement in Nandigram. He led the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee against the Left Front governmentโs plan to acquire 10,000 acres for a special economic zone. The state CID alleged that Adhikari had supplied arms to the Maoists.
๐ Electoral Successes
In 2009, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tamluk constituency. In the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, he was elected from Nandigram and resigned as an MP. He defeated sitting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram in the 2021 election by 1,956 votes.
๐ Party Changes
Adhikari was a member of the Trinamool Congress from 1998 to 2020 and Indian National Congress from 1995 to 1998. On 17 December 2020, he resigned from the primary membership of All India Trinamool Congress. On 19 December 2020, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah.
๐ 2026 Election Victory
In the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, Adhikari contested in both Nandigram and Bhabanipur and won both by a spectacular margin. He claimed support came mainly from Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh voters, not Muslim voters. He is scheduled to take oath as the 9th Chief Minister of West Bengal on 9 May 2026.
๐ก๏ธ Stance on Immigration
Adhikari has advocated for stricter measures against illegal immigration in West Bengal. He claimed that the BJP wished to deport Rohingya Muslim refugees, whom he called โinfiltratorsโ. He has accused the TMC government of assisting in the settlement of these refugees using fake documents.
๐ Citizenship Amendment Act
Adhikari campaigned for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. He urged Bangladeshi Hindu refugees in West Bengal to apply for citizenship at CAA awareness camps. He warned of up to 1 crore Hindu refugees fleeing to West Bengal during the 2024 unrest in Bangladesh.
โ๏ธ Corruption Allegations
Adhikari has accused the TMC of large-scale corruption. He publicly offered to supply the CBI with evidence concerning Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeeโs alleged involvement in the Saradha Group financial scandal. Adhikari himself was questioned by the CBI in 2014 over the Saradha Group financial scandal but was not named in any chargesheet.
๐ Post-Election Violence
Following the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election results, Adhikari compiled documentation of post-election violence. He filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court annexing evidence of targeted attacks. The High Court issued a mandatory directive compelling the state to register cases for all reported incidents.
| Year | Position | Constituency | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Councillor | Kanthi Municipality | Indian National Congress |
| 2005 | MLA | Kanthi Dakshin | Trinamool Congress |
| 2009 | MP | Tamluk | Trinamool Congress |
| 2016 | MLA | Nandigram | Trinamool Congress |
| 2021 | MLA | Nandigram | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 2026 | Chief Minister (from 9 May) | Bhabanipur | Bharatiya Janata Party |