Suvendu Adhikari (born 15 December 1970) is an Indian politician from the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

who is the current Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from 10 May 2021. He is a member of the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative assembly are directly elected by t ...

from Nandigram since May 2021 having defeated his opponent incumbent Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...

by 1956 votes. He previously served as the Minister of Transport, Irrigation and Water resource in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. He was a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

15th Lok Sabha Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee. Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...

and the

16th Lok Sabha Members of the 16th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2014 Indian general election. The elections were conducted in 9 phases from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014 by the Election Commission of India. The results of the election were declared on 16 M ...

(2014-2016), as an All India Trinamool Congress candidate, from

Tamluk Tamluk () is a town and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purba Medinipur district. Though there is some controversy, scholars have generally agreed that present-day Tamluk is the site of the an ...

. He is the son of

Sisir Adhikari Sisir Kumar Adhikari (born 19 September 1941) is an Indian politician who represented Kanthi Lok Sabha constituency from 2009 till 2021. He is a former Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Manmohan Singh government. He was th ...

, former Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Manmohan Singh government. Credited as the man who galvanised the people of

Nandigram Nandigram is a census town in the Nandigram I Community Development Block of the Haldia subdivision in the Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal. In 2007, the West Bengal government allowed the Salim Group to set up a ch ...

under the umbrella of the

Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee ('Committee against Land Evictions') was an organisation in West Bengal, India, formed to oppose the set-up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the rural area of Nandigram. It formed an important role in resisting ...

, when rumours of land acquisition for a

chemical hub In India, Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions (PCPIRs), originally known as Mega-Chemical Industrial Estates (MCIES) or chemical hubs, are special economic zones intended to facilitate production of petroleum and petrochemical ...

had triggered a movement, Adhikari was a member of the Legislative Assembly from

Contai Contai is a coastal and subdivisional city and a municipality in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Contai subdivision. It is the second most populated city of the district.According to the geologists, t ...

. He defeated CPI(M)’s strongman Lakshman Seth by a margin of 172,958 votes. He resigned from the primary membership of All India Trinamool Congress and joined

in presence of Home Minister Amit Shah on 19 December 2020. He won the Nandigram assembly seat against TMC's supremo and

Chief Minister of West Bengal The Chief Minister of West Bengal is the representative of the Government of India in the state of West Bengal and the head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal. The chief minister is head of the Council of Ministers and ap ...

in 2021 by a margin of 1956 votes, though there is a dispute regarding this due to loadshedding in counter room while counting at last minute. The issue is still under trial in court.

Early life and education

Adhikari was born on 15 December 1970 to

and Gayatri Adhikari at Karkuli in Purba Medinipur district in

. Sisir Adhikari is a politician, and former

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

Second Manmohan Singh ministry The Second ministry of Manmohan Singh came into existence after the general election in 2009. The results of the election were announced on 16 May 2009 and led to the formation of the 15th Lok Sabha. Manmohan Singh took the oath as the 13th ...

and was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

from Kanthi constituency in 2019. Adhikari is unmarried. One of Suvendu's brothers, Soumendu, is the chairman of the

Kanthi A gaurav ''kanthi'', or simply ''kanthi'' ( sa, कण्ठी, ''kaṇṭhī'', . "necklace"), is an basil-seed threaded string worn by some adherents of Hinduism. In Vaishnavism Followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism wear ''kanthi malas'' made of '' ...

municipal corporation.

Dibyendu Adhikari Dibyendu Adhikari (born 24 December 1976) is an Indian politician from the state of West Bengal in India. He has been elected to Lok Sabha from Tamluk in 2019 as a member of Trinamool Congress. Dibyendu Adhikari's father Sisir Adhikari and elde ...

, elected to Lok Sabha in 2019 from Tamluk constituency, is also his brother. Adhikari received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree from

Netaji Subhas Open University Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU) is a state open university imparting distance education in eastern India History It was established in 1997 to commemorate the birth centenary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It has its headquarters at 1, Wo ...

Early Political career

Adhikari was first elected as a councillor from

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

in the Contai Municipality in 1995. In 2006, Adhikari was elected to the

from Kanthi Dakshin constituency. He also became the chairman of

Municipal Corporation in the same year. In 2007, Adhikari spearheaded the anti-land-acquisition movement in the

. He led the

. The ruling Left Front government in West Bengal planned to acquire 10,000 acres of land in the village to set up a

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

. This movement catapulted

to the centre-stage of Bengali politics. The state

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

alleged that Adhikari had supplied arms to the Maoists to wage an armed movement against the state government. After Adhikari's success in Nandigram, Banerjee made him the party's observer (in-charge) of the Jangal Mahal i.e.

Paschim Medinipur Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba M ...

Purulia Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is located at . It has an average ele ...

and

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced af ...

districts. He was successful in expanding the party's base in these districts. In 2009, he was elected to the

from the Tamluk constituency. He defeated his nearest rival Lakshman Seth of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...

by a margin of approximately 173,000 votes. In the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Adhikari was pitted against Abdul Kadir Sheikh of the Left Front -

alliance in Nandigram constituency. After getting elected, he resigned as an MP from Tamluk constituency. He was sworn in as the Minister of Transport in the

Second Mamata Banerjee ministry Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as Chief Minister of West Bengal The Chief Minister of West Bengal is the representative of the Government of India in the state of West Bengal and the head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal ...

on 27 May 2016. Adhikari resigned from the post of chairman of

Hooghly River Bridge Commission The Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) office is a statutory organization under the Department of Transport (West Bengal), established in 1969 for the construction of Vidyasagar Setu. In 1961, the Kolkata Metropolitan Planning Organizati ...

(HRBC), a statutory body under the Government of West Bengal on 26 November 2020. He also resigned as West Bengal Transport Minister on 27 November 2020. He had tendered his resignation to the speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly as MLA on 16 December 2020 which was not accepted by the speaker initially on grounds of technicality. However, it was eventually accepted on 21 December 2020. On 17 December 2020 he resigned from the primary membership of All India Trinamool Congress. On 19 December 2020, he joined

in presence of Home Minister Amit Shah.

2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

He defeated the sitting chief minister of West Bengal

in Nandigram assembly seat in

2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election The 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election for 292 of the 294 constituencies in West Bengal was held between 27 March to 29 April 2021 in eight phases. Voting for the two remaining constituencies was delayed to 30 September 2021. The ...

. Mamata Banerjee has filed an election petition in Calcutta High Court challenging the verdict of Nandigram. On 10 May, Union Minister

Ravi Shankar Prasad Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 30 August 1954) is an Indian politician and lawyer, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. A Member of Parliament since 2000, first in the Rajya Sabha (2000-2019) and then in the Lok Sabha (since 2019), Prasad has served as Un ...

announced Suvendu Adhikari's name as leader of the BJP legislature party in the West Bengal assembly.

Electoral history

* 1995 : Elected as a councillor from

in the Contai Municipality * 2006 : Elected to West Bengal Vidhan Sabha, from Kanthi Dakshin (Vidhan Sabha constituency) as member of AITC . ** Resigned mid-term to join Lok Sabha * 2009 : Elected to Lok Sabha, from

Tamluk (Lok Sabha constituency) Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India. All seven assembly segments under Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency are in Purba Medinipur district. Vidhan Sabha segments As per order of the Delimitation C ...

, member of AITC (All India Trinamool Congress) * 2014 : Elected to Lok Sabha, from

** Resigned mid-term to join Vidhan Sabha * 2016 : Elected to West Bengal Vidhan Sabha, from

Nandigram (Vidhan Sabha constituency) Nandigram Assembly constituency is an assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Overview As per orders of the Delimitation Commission, No. 210 Nandigram Assembly constituency is composed of the fol ...

, member of AITC * 2021 : Elected to West Bengal Vidhan Sabha, from

, member of BJP

Controversies

Saradha scam

Adhikari was interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in September 2014 for his alleged role in the

Saradha Group financial scandal The Saradha Group financial scandal was a major financial scam and alleged political scandal caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies that was believed to be running collective i ...

. A former employee of the company alleged the company's head Sudipto Sen met Adhikari before fleeing to Kashmir. Adhikari rejected such allegations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adhikari, Suvendu 1970 births Living people India MPs 2009–2014 People from Purba Medinipur district Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Former members of Trinamool Congress Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal West Bengal MLAs 2021–2026 India MPs 2014–2019