Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee has chosen not to retaliate against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following her 2021 loss in Nandigram. In that election, her former ally Suvendu Adhikari defeated her by less than 2,000 votes, prompting her to shift to the safer seat of Bhabanipur to secure a third consecutive term as West Bengal Chief Minister.
Adhikari, who had previously been a trusted aide, managed to secure victory despite a significant drop in his vote share compared to his performance as a Trinamool candidate in 2016. He garnered over 1.3 lakh votes in 2016, representing 67 percent of the total votes cast, while in 2021, as a BJP candidate, he received about 1.1 lakh votes out of close to 2.3 lakh mandates, capturing a 48 percent vote share.
In the upcoming electoral battle in 2026, Mamata will face Adhikari in Bhabanipur, where he has decided to challenge her. Notably, the Adhikari family holds significant influence in West Bengal politics, with members occupying key positions. Suvendu Adhikari, known for his organizational skills, played a crucial role in Mamata’s opposition to a proposed chemical hub in Nandigram during the tenure of the then Left Front Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Suvendu, aged 56, began his political journey with the Congress before aligning with Mamata’s Trinamool Congress. After a fallout with the Trinamool leadership in 2020, he emerged victorious in Nandigram in 2021 and assumed the role of Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. His confrontational stance and criticism of Mamata have positioned him as a prominent figure in anti-Trinamool politics.
