Nandigram giant killer & BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari elected as LoP in West Bengal Assembly

In a key development on Monday, Nandigram MLA and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was elected as the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. This decision was taken in a meeting of the newly-elected BJP MLAs which was also attended by state WB president Dilip Ghosh and central observers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Bhupender Yadav. Adhikari was perceived as a leading contender for the post after he defeated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram. 

Congratulating the new LoP, BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya remarked, "After facing humiliating defeat in Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee will now have to face Shri Suvendu Adhikari as the Leader of Opposition for the next five years. It will serve as a constant reminder of her status as a CM who couldn’t win her own seat". Despite Banerjee's defeat, TMC sprung a surprise by decisively winning the West Bengal election by bagging 213 seats whereas BJP could win in only 77 constituencies. 

Rise of the rebel

An erstwhile aide of Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikari's rise to prominence was marked by his pivotal role in the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram in 2007. It is considered as one of the key reasons for ending the Left Front's 34-year-rule in the 2011 Assembly polls. His foray into electoral politics on a TMC ticket commenced with his victory in the 2006 polls. Thereafter, he won the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014. However, he returned to state politics by securing a victory from Nandigram in the 2016 polls. Thereafter, he became an important Minister in the West Bengal government. 

Apart from his home turf of Purba Medinipur, Adhikari is believed to wield a significant influence in the three districts of Bankura, Purulia, and Paschim Medinipur. However, trouble ensued after he was gradually sidelined in the TMC ranks. After resigning from the West Bengal Cabinet on November 27, 2020, he also quit the primary membership of the Mamata Banerjee-led party. Though Adhikaru had submitted a letter resigning as the MLA on December 16, 2020, it was not accepted as no date was specified. On December 21, 2020, West Bengal Speaker Biman Banerjee accepted his resignation after the latter personally deposed before him.

On December 19, 2020, he joined TMC in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Midnapore along with former MLAs Silbhadra Dutta, Tapasi Mondal, Ashoke Dinda, Sudip Mukherjee, Saikat Panja, Dipali Biswas, Sukra Munda, Shyamapda Mukherjee, Biswajit Kundu and Banasri Maity. While he was given a ticket to contest from Nandigram, BJP did not name him as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate. During the poll campaign, the EC pulled him up for violating the Model Code of Conduct with his 'mini Pakistan' remark.