BJP's Suvendu Adhikari vows to repay North Bengal voters' trust, BJP won 40 of 54 seats
Synopsis
West Bengal's new BJP Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari made his first major regional visit to Siliguri, pledging to repay North Bengal's loyalists after the party swept 40 of 54 Assembly seats there — blanking the TMC entirely in four districts. The visit signals that North Bengal, long treated as a political afterthought, is now central to the BJP's governance agenda.
Key Takeaways
CM Suvendu Adhikari visited Siliguri on 20 May to chair an administrative review of all eight North Bengal districts .
The BJP won 40 of 54 Assembly seats in North Bengal; the TMC won only 14 .
The TMC failed to win a single seat in Darjeeling , Kalimpong , Jalpaiguri , and Alipurduar .
North Bengal Development Minister Nisith Pramanik will hold weekly public grievance sessions at Uttar Kanya .
Adhikari pledged zero tolerance on extortion and law-and-order issues statewide.
Development focus will centre on the tea and tourism sectors and completion of pending projects.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday, 20 May pledged that his newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government would fully honour the sustained electoral faith that voters in North Bengal have placed in the party since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Adhikari made the remarks in Siliguri, Darjeeling district, where he arrived to chair an administrative review meeting covering all eight districts of the region.
What the Chief Minister Said
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Adhikari described North Bengal's unbroken electoral support for the BJP — spanning the 2019 Lok Sabha polls through the recently concluded Assembly elections — as 'simply unforgettable.' He framed the government's mandate in terms of obligation.
'Be it in the Lok Sabha elections or in the Assembly elections, the voters of North Bengal have been entrusting faith in the BJP since 2019. So, it is now our turn to repay our debts to the North Bengal voters, who had been long deprived in many areas in the previous regime. The promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the pre-election campaigns will be fulfilled at any cost,' Adhikari said.
BJP's Sweep in North Bengal Assembly Polls
The scale of the BJP's recent mandate in the region gives context to Adhikari's confidence. The party's candidates won 40 out of 54 Assembly constituencies across the eight North Bengal districts. The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) managed to secure just 14 seats.
Notably, in four of the eight districts — Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar — the TMC failed to win a single seat, marking a near-total shutout in those areas.
Administrative Measures Announced
Adhikari announced that North Bengal Development Minister Nisith Pramanik will hold weekly public grievance sessions at 'Uttar Kanya', the functional state secretariat for the North Bengal region. The move is aimed at bringing governance closer to residents who have historically had to travel to Kolkata for administrative redress.
The Chief Minister also reiterated a zero-tolerance stance on law and order across the state. 'Extortion, hooliganism or deterioration of law and order will not be tolerated in the state in any way. Those who are still thinking that they would get away like before are wrong. The law will take its own course henceforth,' he said.
Development Priorities for the Region
On the economic front, Adhikari identified the tea and tourism sectors as the twin pillars of North Bengal's development strategy. He also committed to accelerating the completion of pending state and Central government projects in the region, which critics of the previous administration had long flagged as stalled or underfunded.
With a decisive Assembly mandate secured and the first major administrative review under way, the BJP government's early moves in North Bengal will be closely watched as a test of whether electoral promises translate into on-ground delivery.
Point of View
But rhetoric needs institutional follow-through: weekly grievance sessions at Uttar Kanya are a start, not a solution. The tea sector, which employs hundreds of thousands of workers across the Dooars and Darjeeling hills, has been in structural distress for years; vague development pledges without sector-specific policy detail will ring hollow quickly. The BJP's real test in North Bengal is not electoral — it has already won that — but administrative, and the clock is running.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did CM Suvendu Adhikari visit Siliguri on 20 May?
Adhikari visited Siliguri on 20 May to chair an administrative review meeting covering all eight districts of North Bengal. He used the occasion to announce governance measures and reaffirm the BJP government's commitment to the region's development.
How did the BJP perform in North Bengal in the Assembly elections?
The BJP won 40 out of 54 Assembly constituencies across North Bengal's eight districts. The TMC could win only 14 seats, and in four districts — Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar — it failed to win even a single seat.
What is 'Uttar Kanya' and what role will it play?
Uttar Kanya is the functional state secretariat for North Bengal, based in Siliguri. CM Adhikari announced that North Bengal Development Minister Nisith Pramanik will hold weekly public grievance hearings there, giving residents a local channel for administrative redress.
What are the BJP government's development priorities for North Bengal?
The government has identified the tea and tourism sectors as key focus areas, alongside fast-tracking pending state and Central government projects in the region. CM Adhikari also pledged zero tolerance on extortion and law-and-order deterioration.
What did CM Adhikari say about law and order in North Bengal?
Adhikari stated that extortion, hooliganism, and any deterioration of law and order would not be tolerated anywhere in West Bengal, including North Bengal. He warned that those expecting impunity as in the past would find the law taking its course.
