After Bengal sweep, who will BJP pick as Chief Minister?

KOLKATA, MAY 4 : For the BJP, Bengal was always the final frontier. After all, it is the birthplace of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Thus, with the BJP sweeping the Bengal elections, the party is expected to name a strong chief minister, probably a woman, to firmly establish its presence in the state. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his campaign, repeatedly underscored that the BJP would appoint a “Bengali” as chief minister if voted to power.

Union minister Sukanta Majumdar even went on to say that the next Bengal chief minister would be a “non-vegetarian”, seen as a bid to counter Mamata Banerjee’s assertion that the BJP would ban fish and meat if it came to power. With Bengal now in the BJP’s kitty, the attention has turned to who will step into the shoes of Mamata.

WHO WILL BE NEXT BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER?

The BJP, unlike regional parties, does not typically project a chief ministerial face in state elections. In Bengal, Modi was the party’s sole USP. The Prime Minister, who addressed over 20 rallies, pulled out all stops to conquer Mamata’s Bengal fortress.

Thus, over the past month, PM Modi spoke and ate Bengal, literally. He was seen having jhalmuri, Bengal’s OG snack, visiting a Kali temple (where non-veg food is offered as ‘prasad’), playing Bengal’s favourite football and also posting an audio message in Bengali. Bengal seems to have put its faith in Brand Modi.

But who will carry it forward? With the BJP putting women’s security at the forefront of its campaign, the saffron party may well appoint a woman chief minister. The only state where the BJP now has a woman CM is in Delhi (Rekha Gupta). After the chaos over the Women’s Reservation Act, the BJP will likely use the opportunity to burnish its pro-woman image.

Among its prominent women leaders are Agnimitra Paul and Roopa Ganguly, best known for playing Draupadi in BR Chopra’s iconic Mahabharat series.

Other frontrunners include Leader of Opposition and Mamata’s bete noire, Suvendu Adhikari, state chief Samik Bhattacharya, Nisith Pramanik and strongman Dilip Ghosh.

SUVENDU ADHIKARI

A former TMC heavyweight and Mamata’s close aide, Suvendu Adhikari, is widely seen as the strongest contender. While being the most prominent BJP face in Bengal, Suvendu brings with him a grassroots connect and organisational network. He wields considerable influence in Midnapore.

In the 2021 elections, he emerged as a giant killer by defeating Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram. He also gave her a tough fight in Mamata’s home turf in Bhabanipur.

However, he doesn’t have a clean slate. In 2021, Suvendu was named in the Narada sting operation case, where he was seen accepting bribes on camera.

SAMIK BHATTACHARYA

The newly appointed Bengal BJP chief has his roots in the RSS and is widely regarded as a consensus-builder within the party. Known to work behind the scenes, Bhattacharya has been vital in expanding the BJP’s reach across diverse social groups.

AGNIMITRA PAUL

A fashion designer, Agnimitra Paul, is one of the BJP’s leading women leaders in Bengal. Paul, who served as the chief of the Bengal unit of the BJP Mahila Morcha, has quickly risen through the ranks to become the state vice-president.

In the 2026 polls, Paul retained her Asansol South seat. A graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Paul is known for her active campaigning style and vitriolic attacks on Mamata Banerjee.

ROOPA GANGULY

Best known for playing Draupadi in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, Roopa Ganguly is another popular woman leader of the BJP who has also been a Rajya Sabha MP. The Sonarpur Dakshin MLA enjoys urban appeal and has a grassroots connect due to her two-year tenure as president of the Bengal BJP Mahila Morcha.

DILIP GHOSH

Known for his aggressive political style and grassroots outreach, former BJP state president Dilip Ghosh was widely credited for the BJP’s 2021 performance, where it dislodged the Left-Congress combine as the principal opposition in Bengal. Despite no longer being the state chief, Ghosh remains an influential figure in Bengal politics and may turn out to be the dark horse in the CM race.

An old RSS hand, Ghosh joined the BJP in 2014 as Bengal general secretary and was made the state party president the next year. However, he is known to have a foot-in-the-mouth syndrome and is widely controversial.

It remains to be seen if the BJP bets on known faces like Suvendu or Dilip Ghosh or picks a woman leader as chief minister after its historic Bengal win.

-PTI