NEW DELHI: In what seemed largely impossible in 2021, became exhaustively debatable five years later. Can Suvendu Adhikari defeat Mamata in home turf Bhabanipur? The question gained political legitimacy in 2026 given the nail-biting contest in 2021 Nandigram battle, where Mamata had challenged her ex-protege.Taking the battle to Suvendu’s bastion Nandigram didn’t go well for Mamata as the BJP leader defeated her with over 1900 votes. That was round one between Mamata vs Suvendu. The second round in 2026 was more intense as, this time, Suvendu took the battle to Mamata’s citadel, Bhabanipur.This has been the rivalry-arch of Suvendu Adhikari, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) chief minister-elect, with Mamata Banerjee, whose chair now belongs to her ex-loyalist.The legislative party of the BJP elected Suvendu Adhikari as its leader, making him the apparent choice for the chief minister, who will also be the saffron party’s first leader to be at the helm of West Bengal.“I announce the name of Suvendu Adhikari elected as Leader of West Bengal BJP Legislative Party,” says Union home minister Amit Shah, appointed as the Central Observer for the election of the legislative party leader in West Bengal.
Who is Suvendu Adhikari
Suvendu Adhikari comes from one of the state’s most influential political families. His father, Sisir Adhikari, served both in the West Bengal Assembly and the Lok Sabha, while his brother Dibyendu Adhikari was earlier a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP before joining the BJP in 2024.Suvendu began his political journey with the Congress during the 1995 municipal polls before moving to the newly formed TMC alongside his father in 1998. He rose rapidly within Mamata Banerjee’s party and became one of its strongest organisational faces in coastal Bengal.He first entered the West Bengal Assembly in 2006 from Kanthi Dakshin and later played a major role in the Singur and Nandigram agitations against the Left Front government, movements that helped Mamata rise to power in 2011.Known for his strong grassroots network in East Midnapore, Adhikari became one of the TMC’s key strategists. However, growing differences with the party leadership and the rise of Abhishek Banerjee widened the distance between him and Mamata.In 2020, he switched to the BJP, dramatically reshaping Bengal politics. His switch to the BJP, dramatically reshaped Bengal politics becuase he, apart from defeating Mamata twice, cemented his image as the BJP’s most powerful face in Bengal.His entry also coincided with the BJP’s extraordinary rise in the state. From winning just 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections, the saffron party surged to 208 seats in 2026, ending the TMC’s 15-year rule and marking the BJP’s first full-scale breakthrough in West Bengal politics.
2026 Bengal assembly elections
The battle of Bhabanipur
The contest between Mamata and Suvendu was back and forth at high-stakes Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which ended up with historic mandate in favour of BJP’s heavyweight, who defeated Mamata by 15,105 votes.Mamata’s defeat in Bhabanipur, considered to be her bastion with deep hold of TMC’s cadre, resonates with the larger picture of the West Bengal verdict where the BJP bulldozed the ruling Trinamool’s 15-year rule.On a day the Trinamool Congress watched its 15-year dominance collapse across West Bengal, Bhabanipur was the most crushing blow that arrived late in the evening for Mamata as it was never just another constituency.
How the result unfolded
Bhabanipur was her political refuge and her safest ground during moments of crisis. The seat became synonymous with her rise after Subrata Bakshi vacated it in 2011 to allow her entry into the assembly after she became chief minister for the first time. Since then, Bhabanipur had remained firmly under her control.She won the seat in 2011, retained it in 2016 and stormed back in the 2021 bypoll with a massive margin of 58,835 votes after losing the Nandigram battle to Suvendu Adhikari earlier that year.That defeat in Nandigram had already transformed the former mentor-protege relationship between Mamata and Suvendu into one of Bengal’s defining political rivalries.
Suvendu emerges giantslayer
Outside the counting centre at Sakhawat Memorial High School, BJP supporters burst into celebration as the final margin became clear.“We have waited years for this moment. People have voted for change and you can see that energy on the streets today,” said Kamal Jindal while distributing sweets among party workers. Another BJP supporter, Nikita Agarwal, described the result as bigger than an electoral win.“This is not just a victory, it is a message. Bengal wanted development and today that voice was finally heard,” she said.The atmosphere around the counting centre turned tense as the day progressed.
Suvendu Adhikari showing winning certificate from Bhabanipur
The TMC accused BJP workers of assaulting its counting agents and forcing them out of the venue. Mamata rushed to the counting centre amid the escalating confrontation.As her convoy arrived, BJP supporters greeted her with chants of “thief, thief” and “go back”. She remained at the venue till around 8 pm before eventually leaving under the protection of central forces.Soon after, Mamata alleged the election had been “rigged” and “looted” by the BJP and claimed she was defeated through force. She also vowed to return.For many TMC workers gathered outside, however, the scale of the defeat appeared difficult to process. “We don’t have words,” one party worker said quietly as he removed the TMC symbol pinned to his shirt.
The slow erosion of eminence
The warning signs had emerged during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the TMC’s lead in Bhabanipur sharply dropped to just above 8,000 votes, exposing visible cracks in what was once considered an impregnable stronghold.May 4 result completed that political shift as the contest itself unfolded dramatically.Early counting trends favoured Suvendu before Mamata clawed her way back after the third round and briefly opened a lead of more than 19,000 votes, reviving hopes within the TMC camp that she could still survive the challenge. But the BJP leader staged a rapid turnaround as the later rounds tilted decisively in his favour.
