BJP signals Suvendu Adhikari as CM face in Bengal with Amit Shah push on nomination day
Telegraph | 1 April 2026
Calcutta: There is a strong buzz in the Bengal BJP that home minister Amit Shah will accompany Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday when he files his nomination for the Bhabanipur Assembly seat where he has challenged chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Such a rare gesture by Shah would firmly foreground Adhikari as the party’s talisman in Bengal, although the BJP has not projected any chief ministerial face for the elections in keeping with its unstated policy.
“If no issue of national significance arises, Shah is certain to accompany the leader of the Opposition when he files his nomination for the Bhabanipur constituency. None less than Shah will take part in the grand procession on Thursday — this is particularly significant,” a BJP leader in Calcutta said.
Asked about the possibility of Shah joining the show of strength, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said: “I have heard it too. I can confirm that I will certainly be there.”
Shah is expected to arrive in Calcutta on Wednesday night.
BJP sources said rarely had Shah taken part in the nomination-filing process for an Assembly election since becoming home minister. Recently, he accompanied BJP national president Nitin Nabin and chief minister Nitish Kumar when they filed their papers for the Rajya Sabha polls on March 6 — mirroring a shift in Bihar politics as the party emerges from the socialist veteran’s shadows to take control of the state.
“The party is giving Adhikari the utmost prominence in Bengal. Although the BJP will never officially announce a chief ministerial face, anyone can understand what may happen if the party comes to power, given the importance being attached to him,” a BJP leader said.
Adhikari, once a lieutenant of Mamata, joined the BJP in December 2020, a few months before the Assembly elections. He famously defeated Mamata from Nandigram in the 2021 polls.
Since then, Adhikari has led the BJP’s charge against Mamata, primarily over alleged corruption. “Becoming the party’s most important leader in the state was a given after he defeated Mamata. Soon, he was appointed the leader of the Opposition, which gave him an opportunity to spread his influence across the state,” a BJP leader said.
In BJP circles, Adhikari is seen as someone close to Shah, often spotted beside the home minister along with Bhattacharya at media conferences.
“He has beaten Mamata once. If he repeats that feat in Bhabanipur and the BJP comes to power, there is little doubt that he will be the unquestionable claimant of the top post,” another BJP leader in Calcutta said.
A source said another pointer to Adhikari’s growing stature was the decision to allow him to contest two seats — Nandigram and Bhabanipur — simultaneously.
“Among the top party leaders, only Narendra Modi had contested two seats earlier. So, you can imagine how important Suvenduda is,” a leader said.
On Monday, Adhikari filed his nomination from Nandigram in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Dilip Ghosh, who is known to belong to a rival camp within the party.
Adhikari was also the only candidate to be officially handed the party ticket by state unit chief Bhattacharya. The programme was held at the party’s 6 Murlidhar Sen Lane office on Sunday.
Trinamool leaders said neither Shah nor Modi would be able to see the BJP through against Mamata and also in the state. “All those big names of the BJP, including Narendra Modi, Amit Shah or anyone else, are afraid of Mamata Banerjee after receiving a drubbing in the 2021 elections. Let them bring anyone — no one can defeat Mamata Banerjee as she lives in the hearts of the people of Bengal,” Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Dola Sen said.