Saffron frenzy in Mamata backyard: Suvendu Adhikari takes victory lap in Bhabanipur
Telegraph | 14 May 2026
The heart of south Calcutta erupted in frenzy on Wednesday evening as chief minister Suvendu Adhikari led a roadshow to celebrate his stunning victory against his former boss.
Around 6.50pm, the victor’s vehicle — with Suvendu standing atop an open, modified SUV — descended the Kalighat bridge and approached the Harish Chatterjee Street crossing, the neighbourhood of the vanquished, Mamata Banerjee.
Immediately, the speakers played a tweaked version of an election chartbuster targeting Mamata and her nephew over alleged corruption. The marchers, thousands of them, swayed with fervour. Roars of “Jai Sri Ram” and “Bharata Mata ki Jai” pierced the sky.
The brazen celebrations along Bhowanipore, Kalighat and Chetla, unthinkable even a couple of months ago, mirrored the tectonic shift in Calcutta’s political mood.
Some 6km away, a bulldozer emerged in Tiljala to raze an allegedly illegal construction that had turned into a death trap for helpless workers during a fire.
The news, first, and visuals later, of the “Yogi model of justice” in Calcutta, were met with loud cheers.
The parade, which Suvendu said was an expression of gratitude towards the Bhabanipur constituency for electing him, began around 5.45pm from a Hanuman temple near Chetla Lock Gate.
The build-up began at least a couple of hours ago, marked by a massive security deployment that included at least half a dozen IPS officers, cops in white and khaki uniforms and in plainclothes, dog squads and central force jawans.
Suvendu, flanked by BJP leader and industrialist Shishir Bajoria and Anupam Bhattacharya, the BJP’s south Calcutta president, first emerged on the jeep around 5.40pm.
Hundreds had lined up along both sides of the road. People even flocked to terraces and balconies for a glimpse of the man of the moment.
Throughout the rally, which culminated near Exide Crossing, Suvendu remained in a thanksgiving mood — folding his hands, waving at the crowd and occasionally showering flowers on supporters.
Jayanta Banerjee stood below his apartment on Peary Mohan Roy Road. “Suvendu had hugged me during the campaign. I can never forget that. People here did not reveal their feelings, but they all wanted change,” said Banerjee, who waited for over an hour to see Suvendu.
Govind Tibrewal, 64, stood outside another apartment near Chetla Agrani Club, accompanied by more than a dozen neighbours. Carrying a garland woven with lotus flowers, he hoped to present it to Suvendu. As the vehicle approached, a local BJP leader helped him navigate through the crowd, but the scene remained chaotic.
The senior citizen literally fought his way to reach the car and gave the garland to Suvendu, who responded with folded hands.
“It is one of the most precious days of my life,” said Tibrewal. The residents of the apartment distributed water bottles to the marchers.
Suryaneel Das, Suvendu's election agent, had his face smeared in saffron. “During campaigning, we would be threatened. There had been days when it was hard to gather 20 people here. But look at the crowd now,” he said.
By “here”, Das, who is an advocate, meant the para of Calcutta’s mayor and Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim.
“Aye Bobby da dekhe ja, BJP’r khomota (Come Bobby-da, come and see the BJP’s strength),” a bunch of young marchers kept shouting right in front of Chetla Agrani Club.
“This is a new dawn for Bengal. The BJP will establish the rule of law like never before,” said Sudipa Banerjee, an advocate and member of Suvendu’s Bhabanipur team.