Suvendu Adhikari: From Kanthi councillor to the man who catalysed Mamata Banerjee’s fall

Suvendu Adhikari, once a trusted aide of Mamata Banerjee, in a matter of just six years became such a formidable force in West Bengal, catalysing the fall of the leader he once revered. In early years of his career in Trinamool Congress, Suvendu Adhikari became the face of the Mamata Banerjee's anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram, catapulting him to the frontline.

Fast forward to 2026, the same Suvendu Adhikari has vanquished Mamata Banerjee in her own bastion of Bhabanipur by a huge margin of 15,105 votes, repeating the 2021 election result in Nandigram.

Who is Suvendu Adhikari?

His switch to the BJP marked a major turning point in Bengal politics, and he quickly emerged as one of the party's most prominent leaders in the state.

In his early years, Suvendu Adhikari was trained in RSS shakhas. He joined politics in the late 1980s as a member of the Chatra Parishad, the Congress' student wing.

His first election was in 1995 when he was elected councillor of Kanthi municipality. In 1999, Adhikari along with his father switched over to the Trinamool Congress barely a year after it was formed.

Suvendu contested the 2001 Assembly election and 2004 Lok Sabha election, but lost both. He ultimately tasted success in 2006 when he won the Contai assembly seat. In 2007, the Nandigram anti-farmland acquisition movement launched him to the front row of the TMC.

He was later appointed as president of its Youth Congress. In 2009 and 2014, he won the Lok Sabha polls from Tamluk.

The seeds of mistrust between the two leaders were, however, sown on TMC's first annual Martyr's Day rally on July 21 in 2011, when Mamata Banerjee announced the entry of her nephew, Abhishek into politics.

Abhishek Banerjee was named All India Trinamool Yuva, an organisation parallel to the TMC Youth Congress. He later said, “It was done just to keep me in check. Despite working hard, I was always an employee in TMC and never respected as a fellow warrior. Where was the nephew when Nandigram was burning? I was there fighting alone.”

In 2014, he was removed as TMC Youth Congress president but as it was figured that he was in talks to switch to Congress, Mamata Banerjee launched him on Nandigram seat and also gave him three portfolios in the state Cabinet.

Adhikari was also made the TMC observer in Malda and Murshidabad and assigned the task of breaking the Congress in its two strongholds. He successfully poached elected representatives of the grand old party.

But, Abhishek's meteoric rise in the party and in its decision-making fora continued to plague Adhikari. After its 2019 Lok Sabha poll setback, TMC abolished the observer's post, which many feel was done to clip his wings, marking the tipping point for his jumping ship to the BJP.

(With PTI inputs)