Samik Bhattacharya set to become new Bengal BJP president as no other candidate files nominations

Kolkata: Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya is all set to become the next president of the West Bengal BJP as no other candidate filed nomination for the post by Wednesday's deadline, party leaders said.

Bhattacharya reached the BJP's Salt Lake office in the afternoon, accompanied by outgoing state president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Suvendu Adhikari, and submitted his nomination papers.

According to a party notice, nominations were to be accepted between 2 pm and 4 pm, followed by scrutiny and withdrawal of papers till 6 pm.

Since Bhattacharya was the only one to file papers, he is likely to be declared elected without a contest, a senior party leader said.

"Till 4 pm, only Samik Bhattacharya has filed his nomination papers for the post of state president. The announcement will be made either this evening or tomorrow at a felicitation ceremony," a state BJP leader said.

The announcement is expected to be made during a felicitation event at Science City here, he said.

The process to elect the new state BJP president began on Wednesday, a day after the official schedule was announced.

With the 2026 Assembly elections not too far away, the BJP is gearing up for an organisational overhaul, and Bhattacharya's appointment is seen as part of that larger plan.

Unless his nomination is rejected during scrutiny or someone else files at the last moment, Bhattacharya will replace Sukanta Majumdar as the state party chief.