BJP legislature party meet to elect new West Bengal CM

KOLKATA: (May 8) The BJP legislature party is scheduled to meet in Kolkata on Friday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to formally elect its leader, with Suvendu Adhikari emerging as the frontrunner to become the party's first chief minister in West Bengal.

The BJP registered a historic victory in the just-held assembly elections, ending the TMC's 15-year rule and dealing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee one of the biggest setbacks of her political career.

Though the BJP has not officially announced its chief ministerial choice, Adhikari has emerged as the frontrunner after securing two of the most politically significant victories -- retaining Nandigram, where he defeated Banerjee in 2021, and now wresting Bhabanipur, long regarded as the TMC supremo's pocket borough.