Who will be next West Bengal CM? Amit Shah to meet newly elected MLAs today, swearing-in set for May 9

The BJP has scheduled the swearing-in ceremony of the new CM on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground.

Leaders of the BJP are set to meet in Kolkata on Friday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to finalise the Chief Minister for West Bengal. Suvendu Adhikari, who won from two constituencies (Bhawanipur and Nandigram) in the West Bengal assembly elections, is considered the frontrunner to become the BJP's first Chief Minister in the state.

Suvendu has made invaluable contributions to the BJP's landslide victory in West Bengal which was being ruled by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the last 15 years.

Notably, the BJP has not officially announced its chief ministerial choice but Adhikari could be the top choice as he retained Nandigram, where he defeated Banerjee in 2021. He beat Banerjee this time in Bhabanipur with a margin of over 15,000 votes.

Meanwhile, the BJP has scheduled the swearing-in ceremony of the CM on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin and chief ministers of all NDA-ruled states are expected to attend.

Once among Banerjee's closest associates and a key architect of the TMC's organisational expansion in rural West Bengal, Adhikari joined the BJP in December 2020 and went on to become the party's most aggressive campaigner in the state.

But apart from Adhikari, there are other names being discussed for the top post. West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, who won the Rashbehari seat, are said to be under consideration.

While Dasgupta is viewed by some within the party as an intellectual face capable of balancing governance with political messaging, Bhattacharya is credited with steering the organisation through a crucial electoral phase.

(With PTI inputs)