KOLKATA: Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the new chief minister of West Bengal after the Bharatiya Janata Party secured an election victory, ending the 15-year rule of Mamata Banerjee and her All India Trinamool Congress.
The BJP won 207 out of 294 assembly seats, marking the party’s first government in the eastern Indian state.
Adhikari, once considered a close ally of Banerjee before joining the BJP, has repeatedly faced criticism from opposition parties and rights groups over remarks described as Islamophobic and communally divisive.
Following his election victory, Adhikari claimed Muslim voters had largely backed Banerjee while Hindus and other communities supported him, calling the result “a victory for Hindutva.”
“Muslims voted for Mamata Banerjee, who wears a hijab,” he said after defeating her in the Bhabanipur constituency.
In previous speeches, Adhikari has called for Muslim legislators to be “thrown out” of the assembly and has referred to political opponents as representing “mini-Pakistan.”
Israel model
He also drew criticism after advocating what he described as an “Israel model” response against Bangladesh following reported attacks on Hindus there.
During the election campaign, he frequently referred to “Bangladeshi Muslim intruders” and demanded their removal from voter lists.
The controversy surrounding the election has also intensified after reports that nearly nine million names were removed from West Bengal’s electoral rolls during a voter revision exercise conducted by India’s Election Commission.
According to an Al Jazeera report, Muslims were disproportionately affected by the deletions, particularly in districts with large Muslim populations including Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas and Malda.
The report cited local residents who said names had been removed despite valid documents being available.
Banerjee accused the BJP and election authorities of bias, alleging that more than 100 seats were “looted” and describing the outcome as an “immoral victory.”
Adhikari, born in Purba Medinipur district in 1970, rose through Bengal politics over several decades before emerging as one of the BJP’s most prominent leaders in the state.
