Buzz on many names; swearing-in likely on Tagore birthday, BJP keeps Bengal guessing on CM pick
Telegraph | 5 May 2026
The BJP’s primary mission of winning Bengal has been accomplished with a landslide victory on Monday. The next question now is: who will be the chief minister?
Although there has been no official announcement so far, at least four names have been doing the rounds in the BJP’s inner circles, each backed by strong reasons for their possible selection.
During a news conference before the second phase of the elections, Union home minister Amit Shah was asked about the name of the next chief minister if the party came to power. He said that anyone who is a son of the soil, educated in Bengal, speaks Bengali and is a BJP worker would be the chief minister.
“I want to assure the people that the next chief minister will be someone born and educated in Bengal, fluent in Bengali,” Shah had said on April 24.
BJP insiders said the swearing-in of the chief minister may take place on May 9, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
A source has said the four names doing the rounds for the chief minister’s post are Suvendu Adhikari, Samik Bhattacharya, Utpal Brahmacharo and Swapan Dasgupta.
The strongest buzz, however, is around Adhikari, on whom a large section of BJP insiders has been banking, citing multiple reasons.
First, Adhikari was the only BJP nominee to contest this election from two seats — Nandigram and Bhabanipur, where he was pitted against chief minister Mamata Banerjee. He had defeated Mamata in Nandigram in 2021 and became the leader of the Opposition.
“As Suvendu da defeated Mamata twice, his name carries more weight as a chief ministerial candidate,” said a BJP leader.
A source said Adhikari initially did not wish to contest from two seats and had informed the party that he wanted to fight only from Nandigram. However, Shah instructed him to enter Mamata’s home turf and defeat her. Adhikari retained Nandigram by over 10,000 votes and won from Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes.
“Amit Shah had accompanied Suvendu da during his nomination filing. It was he who fielded Suvendu da against Mamata. So there is every possibility that the party may choose him. After this landslide victory, it would be tough to ignore Suvendu da for the top post,” said a senior BJP leader in Calcutta.
Besides Adhikari, a large section of the BJP leadership believes that state party president Samik Bhattacharya could emerge as the chief minister’s face for multiple reasons, including his Bengali-educated middle-class image and his ability to maintain coordination among all factions.
BJP leaders unequivocally admitted that Bhattacharya had played a significant role since he had been made the state chief.
A senior BJP leader said Bhattacharya brought about a major change in the organisation under the guidance of BJP’s Bengal minder Sunil Bansal by keeping together old guards of the party who had stayed away because of internal feuds between veterans and newcomers. Bhattacharya was the man who brought all BJP workers — old and new — under the same umbrella.
He urged all Opposition parties, including the CPM, to unite first to remove the Trinamool Congress from power.
“Don’t forget Samik da has every capability to represent Bengalis and Bengali culture because of his vast knowledge and balanced attitude. Most importantly, Samik da is also an RSS face. Without RSS help, this election could not have been swept by the BJP,” he added.
The third name is not so well known among common BJP workers but is very popular within the RSS and the saffron ecosystem, including the BJP’s top tier. He is Utpal Brahmacharo, better known as Utpal Maharaj.
He resigned from his post at the religious institution and contested from the Kaliaganj Assembly constituency. According to Election Commission data, he won the seat by a huge margin of over 76,000 votes.
A source said that as a religious leader, Brahmacharo had worked extensively through social service and played a significant role in consolidating Hindu votes. His margin of victory itself proves how popular he was in the area. Therefore, he, too, is one of the faces in the chief ministerial race.
The fourth name under discussion within the BJP is Swapan Dasgupta, owing to his high-profile academic background and his image as a representative of Bengal’s educated society.
Dasgupta, who won from Rashbehari, is a journalist, author and politician with a strong academic grounding in history. He holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies.
“He may be a possible chief ministerial face for Bengal because of his high academic profile and his acceptability among Bengali intelligentsia and educated middle class,” said a source.
Another name doing the rounds is Sanjeev Sanyal, who is a member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council.
However, a national BJP leader has said, as the party has a history of throwing up surprises, any face could be selected for the top post.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh is likely to reach Calcutta on Tuesday or Wednesday to hold a meeting with BJP MLAs.
Sources said the RSS had started the groundwork in Bengal as early as 2017.
At its Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha held in 2017, the RSS adopted a resolution that expressed concern about the alleged drop in the percentage of Hindus in Bengal despite a large-scale influx of Hindus to the state from Bangladesh. “Soon after the session, the RSS started its campaign in Bengal,” said a Sangh source.