Bengal BJP President: Who Can Take On Mamata Banerjee In 2026?

The BJP in Bengal has a tough and also delicate task on its hands: choose the right person as the state president who can ably lead the saffron party in next year’s crucial Assembly elections.

The term of the incumbent, Sukanta Majumdar, expired in September last year and he had been asked to continue in the post till a replacement was found.

But the process of finding Majumdar’s successor has been a tricky one and has eluded the party leadership for the last few months.

That’s because there are many aspirants for the post, and preferring one over the others would open the doors for disgruntlement and dissension among the top ranks of the party in the state.

The claimants for the post

Prime among them has been Suvendu Adhikari, who is also the Leader of Opposition (in the state Assembly). Adhikari’s supporters argue that he is the tallest and most popular leader of the party in Bengal at present, and making him the state party president will strengthen the party.

“He (Adhikari) has mass appeal and is very popular. He is one of the very few BJP leaders in Bengal who can mobilise the masses. Making him the party president will benefit the party immensely,” a BJP MLA from Purba Medinipur district who is close to Adhikari told Swarajya.

Another senior functionary of the party argued that making any person other than Adhikari the state party president would result in two power centres developing in the state unit of the party, and that will harm the party on the eve of the crucial assembly polls due less than a year from now.

“At this decisive stage when the party needs to work unitedly to unseat the Trinamool Congress from power, it is very important to have a powerful party president who can provide strong leadership to the party. Suvendu Adhikari fits the bill perfectly. Making someone else the party chief can lead to avoidable trouble like personality clashes, emergence of dual power centres and breakdown of communication,” he reasoned.

But the RSS and party old-timers are strongly opposed to making Adhikari the state unit president because of Adhikari’s Trinamool Congress roots.

“He is not someone we can trust very easily. He does not have the proper credentials and does not understand our ethos and philosophy. Yes, he is useful for the party, but the post of party president is an important one and should be occupied by someone who is well aware of our philosophy and culture,” a senior RSS functionary in Bengal told Swarajya.

The RSS top brass have reportedly told the BJP central leadership that making Adhikari the president of the Bengal unit of the party could prove to be disastrous.

“Adhikari is a popular leader in Bengal and has mass appeal. He is also working hard. But he hasn’t passed all the tests to qualify for the state president’s post,” said another senior RSS leader who did not want to be named.

At the root of the objection by RSS and BJP old-timers is the deep suspicion they harbour about Adhikari.

Especially since many of the defectors from the Trinamool Congress who were inducted into the BJP before the 2021 Assembly elections in the state returned to their old party, leaving the BJP in the lurch after the polls. This is one of the primary reasons some RSS leaders and BJP old-timers fear that Adhikari cannot be fully trusted.

Sukanta Majumdar would have liked to continue as the state party president, but he was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers last year as Minister of State for Education and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). The BJP follows a strict ‘one man, one post’ policy.

If he has to continue in the post of state party president, Majumdar will have to forfeit his berth in the Union Council of Ministers. And that is something he is loath to do.

Since he cannot continue as party president, Majumdar wants a say in the appointment of his successor.

Majumdar has been advocating the names of two parliamentarians: Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya and Lok Sabha MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato.

Bhattacharya was the chief spokesperson of the Bengal BJP till he was elected to the upper house in April last year. He won a bypoll for the Basirhat Dakshin Assembly seat (in North 24 Parganas district) in 2014, but lost the seat to the Trinamool Congress in the Assembly elections in 2016.

Bhattacharya has a good rapport with the party central leadership, but is not popular with many party functionaries and most of the party cadres in Bengal.

He is accused of being brusque with party colleagues and cadres, and is also not a mass leader. “He is a good spokesperson since he is soft-spoken and articulate before the cameras, but he lacks leadership skills and is not popular within the party. He is also not well known across the state,” said a senior state BJP leader who was a Lok Sabha MP from 2019 to 2024.

Mahato, the other choice of Sukanta Majumdar as his successor, is a two-time Lok Sabha MP from Purulia. A law graduate, Mahato is non-controversial and well-liked by his party colleagues.

But he is a tribal and his appeal is limited to only the tribal belt of the state. “He is a dedicated and disciplined party worker. But there is no point in making a tribal the state party chief in an election year. The political messaging just won’t be right,” said the senior RSS leader who also spoke about Suvendu Adhikari.

Many in the party are pitching for a lady as the party president. A lady in the party chief’s post would be a perfect foil to Mamata Banerjee.

“There are many battles against Mamata Banerjee that can be fought by a woman only and not a man. A man risks being accused of misogyny if he takes an overly aggressive stance against a lady. But another lady doing so will not attract censure,” reasoned a veteran party leader who had served in many important organisational posts in the BJP.

“A firebrand lady who is bold, daring and articulate would be the perfect counter to Mamata Banerjee. Only a lady like that can match and trump Mamata Banerjee at every word and step,” he added.

Two names which are doing the rounds are that of former Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee and incumbent MLA Agnimitra Paul.

Chatterjee, a classical dancer and former actor in Bengali films, is a firebrand leader who leads from the front. A former president of the BJP Mahila Morcha in the state, she has been at the forefront of many agitations.

So is Agnimitra Paul, an accomplished fashion designer who is Chatterjee’s successor in the Mahila Morcha. Paul is the sitting MLA from Asansol Dakshin Assembly seat. She fought valiantly in the 2016 elections to defeat actor Saayoni Ghosh, a personal choice of Mamata Banerjee for the seat.

Party insiders say both possess good leadership qualities, are articulate and have great political acumen. Both are also popular among party cadres and can galvanise workers and the masses with their oratory and actions.

“A woman party president would be an asset and will be a good way to counter Mamata Banerjee. We need someone who can match and be better than Mamata Banerjee at her game,” said the senior RSS leader.

Though Chatterjee and Paul are not from the RSS, they are acceptable to the Sangh elders. “Both of them are leadership material and have learnt about the Sangh and its philosophy and ethos,” the RSS leader added.

But the BJP central leadership may also decide, at the last moment, on a wild card entry. The central leadership, which had deputed Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to oversee the process of selecting a new state party president, has not given any inkling of its choice so far.

There is some speculation within the party that a leader from North Bengal may be made the party president. Or, say party insiders, someone from Suvendu Adhikari’s camp may be appointed to the post in order to keep him happy.

“Making someone from North Bengal the state president won’t be advisable since the main battle for the BJP is in South Bengal. We need a party president who is from South Bengal,” said a party general secretary.

Also, making someone from Suvendu Adhikari’s camp the state party chief will anger important sections of the BJP, as well as the RSS.

Given all these factors, said a senior BJP functionary who is closely involved in the process of identifying a party leader for the state president’s post, a consensus seems to be forming around the two women leaders: Chatterjee and Paul.

But again, selecting one over the other will be tough since both are equally qualified for the post. And so are a few others, say BJP leaders.

That’s why the task of appointing a president for the Bengal BJP is proving to be an onerous one.