Suvendu Adhikari to become West Bengal Chief Minister

Suvendu Adhikari will become the Chief Minister of West Bengal, according to Indian media outlet ABP Ananda. The report also says that Agnimitra Paul and Dilip Ghosh will serve as Deputy Chief Ministers.

Today, Suvendu will meet the Governor at Lok Bhavan to stake a claim to form the government. He is scheduled to take oath tomorrow.

Indian media reports said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting today, Friday, with 207 winning BJP candidates and selected Suvendu Adhikari as the leader of the BJP legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly. With his selection as legislative party leader, Suvendu is set to become the next Chief Minister of the state. The new government will take oath on Saturday at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata.

After the legislative party meeting, Amit Shah said, “The process of selecting the legislative party leader has been completed. Eight proposals were placed, and all had one name. Since no second name was proposed, I declare Suvendu Adhikari as the Chief Minister of West Bengal.”

It has also been reported that Rahul Sinha may become Speaker of the Assembly, while Tapas Roy may serve as Deputy Speaker.

Suvendu’s political importance had already risen after winning from two key constituencies, Nandigram and Bhabanipur. The BJP described his victory over former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur by more than 15,000 votes as a ‘historic turning point’.

Shamik Bhattacharya, BJP’s state president and also a contender for the Chief Minister post, had also proposed Suvendu Adhikari’s name.