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The election results in four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry are trickling in. All eyes are on West Bengal as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are engaged in a tight contest, early counting trends show.
BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari has expressed confidence that his party will unseat Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, which has been in power in the eastern state for 15 years. “The BJP will form the government with more than 180 seats,” the BJP candidate from Nandigram and Bhabanipur Assembly constituencies declared on Monday (May 4).
If the saffron party sweeps Bengal, as it seems currently, Suvendu could be a front-runner for the chief ministerial post.
#WATCH | Kolkata: On the early trends, West Bengal LoP and BJP candidate from Nandigram and Bhabanipur, Suvendu Adhikari, says, “This time there’s a Hindu consolidation, and the way Muslims vote for TMC, they have not done that this time. Some votes have gone to the pro-Muslim… pic.twitter.com/i9DA3Lpq8B
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2026
Let’s take a closer look.
_Catch all live updates on the Assembly elections 2026 here._
Who is Suvendu Adhikari?
Suvendu Adhikari is an MLA from Nandigram in West Bengal. A grassroots leader, he once helped turn East Midnapore into a Trinamool stronghold.
The 55-year-old comes from a prominent political family that has a strong influence in East Midnapore. They are often called the “political monarchs” in the area, as per NDTV.
The Adhikari family, which was initially with the Congress, joined the Trinamool Congress after Mamata Banerjee floated the party in 1998.
Suvendu’s father, Sisir Adhikari, served as a Union minister in the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led UPA-2 government.
Sisir’s other sons — Dibyendu Adhikari and Soumendu Adhikari — are also active in Bengal politics.
Like his father, Suvendu Adhikari’s political journey also began with the Congress. He later joined the TMC and became an MLA from the Kanthi Dakshin constituency in 2006.
A year later, he was made Banerjee’s chief organiser during the TMC supremo’s anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram and Singur.
Adhikari led the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee (Committee Against Land Evictions), spearheading the movement in Nandigram.
The agitation catapulted Mamata Banerjee to the Chief Minister’s post in 2011, ending the Left Front government’s 34-year rule in Bengal.
As she came to power in Bengal, her close aide Suvendu was sent to Parliament. He bagged the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 and 2014, emerging as one of the TMC chief’s most trusted lieutenants.
Controversies, however, surrounded Suvendu, whose name cropped up in the Saradha chit fund scam and also the Narada sting.
As Banerjee’s party retained power for a second straight term in 2016, Suvendu returned to state politics, with CM awarding him key ministerial portfolios, including transport.
After the BJP won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in 2019, Suvendu was appointed as the TMC in-charge of the Assembly bypolls. His efforts helped the Banerjee-led party secure all three bypolls, including the BJP stronghold of Kharagpur Sadar.
How Suvendu Adhikari broke away from TMC
Suvendu Adhikari, who was once Mamata Banerjee’s confidante, turned into a rival by the end of 2020.
Before bidding goodbye to the TMC, he was a powerful leader in the party. However, the elevation of Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, did not sit well with the Adhikaris.
Suvendu’s displeasure with the party was visible much before he jumped ship to join the BJP.
Before his exit, he stopped attending meetings and even Trinamool leader Saugata Roy failed to stop him from leaving the party, noted The Hindu.
In November 2020, Suvendu quit as the Bengal minister for transport and irrigation. The next month, he switched to the BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.
During the polls, Banerjee decided to take on her former aide in his home turf of Nandigram.
At her rallies in Nandigram, Banerjee called Suvendu Adhikari a ‘gaddar’ and Mir Jafar (traitor)’, asking the crowd: “What did I not do for him?”
The BJP leader emerged as a giant killer, defeating Banerjee in Nandigram in the 2021 election by about 1,900 votes.
Despite her loss, Banerjee led her party to a major victory for a third straight term in Bengal, with the TMC winning a record 213 seats, while the BJP had to contend with only 77 seats.
Will Suvendu Adhikari deliver TMC a major upset?
As of 1.45 pm, the BJP is leading in 194 of the total 294 seats and the TMC is ahead in 92 seats, as per the Election Commission’s trends. The saffron party’s vote share is 44.9 per cent compared to the TMC’s 41.18 per cent.
VIDEO | West Bengal Election Results: Celebrations erupt at the BJP office in Kolkata as the party is heading towards a possible victory in the state with leads on 191 seats against the ruling TMC’s 96.#WestBengalPollResults2026#Results2026WithPTI#AssemblyElectionResults2026… pic.twitter.com/I1JpaxqS1m
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2026
Suvendu Adhikari, who challenged Banerjee from her bastion of Bhabanipur constituency, is
trailing behind her by more than 13,000 votes. However, he is leading in the Nandigram seat by over 8,000 votes against his nearest TMC rival, Pabitra Kar.
The senior BJP leader credited the consolidation of Hindu votes, as well as significant support from Adivasi communities, for his party’s performance in the Bengal Assembly elections this time.
If the trends hold, he is strongly projected to be the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Bengal.
The majority required to win the Bengal Assembly polls is 148, with the BJP already crossing the mark, as per the current ECI trends.
“The people voted against the misrule,” Suvendu told NDTV. He said, “Hindu women voted for the BJP.”
However, Banerjee’s former ally refused to divulge whether he will be Bengal’s next CM if the BJP dislodges the TMC from power.
With inputs from agencies
First Published:
May 04, 2026, 14:08 IST
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