West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari takes oath in Assembly as Bhabanipur MLA; will resign from Nandigram

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has made a major announcement. He declared that he will retain the Bhabanipur Assembly seat and vacate the Nandigram seat. In the recently concluded Assembly elections, he had secured victory in both the Bhabanipur and Nandigram constituencies. On Wednesday, he took the oath in the State Assembly as the MLA representing Bhabanipur. Speaking to journalists within the Assembly premises, Suvendu Adhikari stated that another legislator would be elected from Nandigram in a by-election. "However," he added, "I will not let the people of that region feel my absence."

What Did  Suvendu Adhikari Say about the People of Nandigram?

He affirmed, "I will fulfill all development-related promises made to the people of Nandigram, just as I will for the rest of the state." Referring to the tenure of Firoza Bibi—who served as the Trinamool Congress MLA from Nandigram from 2009 to 2016—Adhikari noted that, at that time, he was counted among the prominent leaders of Mamata Banerjee's party. He stated, "Although I was not officially the MLA for that seat, I nevertheless extended my full support to Firoza Bibi—the mother of a martyr from the 2008 Nandigram police firing incident." He added, "I will play a similar role this time as well."

How Did Suvendu Adhikari Secure Victory in Two Seats?

In the Assembly elections, Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee by a margin of 15,105 votes in a fiercely contested battle for the Bhabanipur seat—a traditional stronghold of hers. Conversely, in his own stronghold of Nandigram, he defeated his nearest rival from the Trinamool Congress, Pavitra Kar, by a margin of 9,665 votes.

Who Administered the Oath?

It is noteworthy that the newly elected legislators of West Bengal—including Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari—took their oaths in the Assembly on Wednesday. The Assembly's Pro-tem Speaker, Tapas Roy, administered the oath to them. Newly appointed Ministers of State—Agnimitra Paul, Dilip Ghosh, Ashok Kirtania, Khudiram Tudu, and Nisith Pramanik—were also among those who took the oath as MLAs in the 294-member House. On his first day in the Legislative Assembly as Chief Minister, the official paid floral tributes to the statue of B.R. Ambedkar. He was accorded a Guard of Honour within the Assembly premises.