From trusted aide to biggest rival: Suvendu Adhikari set to become West Bengal chief minister

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. From trusted aide to biggest rival: Suvendu Adhikari set to become West Bengal chief minister6 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleZoya MateenGetty ImagesSuvendu Adhikari is admired by his supporters for his political combativeness - but critics see him as a polarising figureAn Indian politician once seen as a protege of a long-serving chief minister of West Bengal state is set to replace her. Suvendu Adhikari of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was a close aide of outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee until their bitter falling out a few years ago. The BJP on Friday said that Adhikari would be the state's next chief minister, to be sworn in on Saturday.

The BJP won 207 of the state's 294 assembly seats in Monday's vote counting, ending the 15-year rule of Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and bringing the Hindu nationalist party to power in the state for the first time. For years, Adhikari cultivated the image of a combative organiser with a sharp instinct for power and an ability to turn Bengal's shifting political currents to his advantage. To supporters, he is the BJP's most recognisable face in West Bengal, a leader rooted in local networks and street-level politics rather than Delhi's political establishment.

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To critics, he embodies the increasingly polarised rhetoric that has come to define the state. Now, after his party's sweeping victory, he finds himself at the centre of one of the most dramatic political transitions West Bengal has seen in recent years. Modi's BJP conquers Bengal, one of India's toughest political frontiersIndia's fiercest female politician faces a fight for survivalBut for Adhikari, personally, the rise did not begin with the BJP.

Born in Purba Medinipur district in 1970 into one of Bengal's most influential political families, he emerged through the Congress party before joining the TMC during its years as an anti-Left force. His father Sisir Adhikari was a veteran MP and the family built a political network across parts of coastal West Bengal, with several relatives holding elected office over the years. It was in Nandigram town, though, that he first became a major political figure.

The violent protests there in 2007 against a proposed land acquisition project transformed politics in West Bengal. The agitation weakened the then-ruling Left Front government and helped propel Banerjee and the TMC to power in 2011. Adhikari, who helped organise much of the movement on the ground, emerged from that battle with a reputation as one of the state's most effective political organisers.

For years, he was seen as one of Banerjee's closest lieutenants. In 2016, Adhikari was embroiled in a controversy over a sting operation, in which several senior TMC leaders were filmed allegedly accepting cash from a fake businessman posing as an investor.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.