Suvendu Adhikari takes oath from Bhabanipur, vacates Nandigram seat
Synopsis
Suvendu Adhikari chose Bhabanipur — the very seat Mamata Banerjee reclaimed in 2021 after he defeated her in Nandigram — to take his MLA oath as West Bengal's new Chief Minister, sealing a symbolic political reversal that has reshaped Bengal's power dynamics entirely.
Key Takeaways
Suvendu Adhikari took oath as MLA from Bhabanipur on 13 May , confirming he will vacate the Nandigram seat.
Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes and Pabitra Kar in Nandigram by over 9,000 votes in the 2026 polls.
This is the second time Adhikari has defeated Banerjee — he first beat her in Nandigram in 2021 by under 2,000 votes .
AJUP founder Humayun Kabir also won from two seats — Naoda and Rejinagar in Murshidabad — but has yet to declare which he will retain.
The oath programme for newly elected legislators continues on Thursday .
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday, 13 May took oath as the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Bhabanipur constituency in South Kolkata, effectively signalling his decision to vacate the Nandigram Assembly seat in East Midnapore district, from which he had also won in the recently concluded state polls.
Key Developments
By swearing in from Bhabanipur, Adhikari confirmed that he will relinquish the Nandigram seat, where he had defeated All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Pabitra Kar by a margin of over 9,000 votes. In Bhabanipur, Adhikari had defeated then sitting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — the TMC chief — by a margin of over 15,000 votes, marking his second consecutive victory over her.
This is the second time Adhikari has beaten Banerjee at the ballot. In 2021, he had defeated her in Nandigram by a margin of just under 2,000 votes, a result that sent shockwaves through Bengal's political landscape. Banerjee had subsequently won a by-election from Bhabanipur in 2021 to retain the Chief Ministership for a third consecutive term — but in 2026, both her party and she personally suffered defeat.
Oath-Taking Ceremony
Adhikari arrived at the West Bengal Legislative Assembly premises and entered the House after bowing and touching his head to the staircase — a gesture widely noted as an expression of reverence. He was welcomed by pro-tem Speaker and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Maniktala constituency in North Kolkata, Tapas Roy.
As per protocol, Adhikari was accorded a Guard of Honour at the Assembly premises. He then garlanded the statue of B.R. Ambedkar within the complex and paid floral tributes. Subsequently, he visited the room assigned to him as Leader of the House and Chief Minister, where he performed a puja before idols of Gods and Goddesses.
The oath was administered by the pro-tem Speaker. The swearing-in programme for newly elected legislators began on Wednesday and is scheduled to continue on Thursday.
The Dual-Seat Parallel
Adhikari is not the only legislator who won from two constituencies in the recent polls. Aam Janata Unnyan Party (AJUP) founder Humayun Kabir also won from both Naoda and Rejinagar — two seats in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district. However, it remains unclear which constituency Kabir will choose to retain and which he will vacate.
What This Means for Bengal Politics
Adhikari's choice of Bhabanipur over Nandigram carries symbolic weight: it is the same seat from which Mamata Banerjee staged her political comeback in 2021 after losing Nandigram to him. By planting his flag there, Adhikari consolidates his hold on a constituency that has become a defining battleground in Bengal's recent political history. With the TMC now in opposition and Banerjee herself a defeated candidate, the state's political balance of power has shifted decisively — and Adhikari's oath marks the formal beginning of that new chapter.
Point of View
Adhikari closes a loop that began with his first historic defeat of her. The margin of over 15,000 votes — compared to under 2,000 in 2021 — suggests the swing was structural, not incidental. The bigger question for Bengal is whether the BJP can convert this electoral breakthrough into durable governance, given the state's history of dominant single-party rule and the entrenched TMC organisational network that remains intact even in defeat.
NationPress
6 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Suvendu Adhikari choose Bhabanipur over Nandigram?
Adhikari took oath as MLA from Bhabanipur on 13 May, signalling his decision to retain that seat and vacate Nandigram. As per rules, a legislator elected from two constituencies must choose one to retain; Adhikari's choice of Bhabanipur — where he defeated Mamata Banerjee by over 15,000 votes — carries both political and symbolic significance.
How many times has Suvendu Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee?
Adhikari has defeated Mamata Banerjee twice. In 2021, he beat her in Nandigram by just under 2,000 votes; in the 2026 polls, he defeated her again in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes.
Who is Humayun Kabir and why is he relevant here?
Humayun Kabir is the founder of the Aam Janata Unnyan Party (AJUP) and, like Adhikari, won from two Assembly constituencies — Naoda and Rejinagar — in Murshidabad district in the 2026 West Bengal polls. It is not yet clear which seat he will retain.
What happened to Mamata Banerjee in the 2026 West Bengal elections?
Mamata Banerjee lost her Bhabanipur seat to Suvendu Adhikari by over 15,000 votes in 2026. Her party, the Trinamool Congress, was also defeated in the overall Assembly election, ending her consecutive run as Chief Minister.
Who administered the oath to Suvendu Adhikari?
The oath was administered by the pro-tem Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, BJP legislator Tapas Roy from the Maniktala constituency in North Kolkata.
