Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata on Friday to oversee a crucial meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party, as the party moves closer to forming its first-ever government in West Bengal following its sweeping victory in the Assembly elections.
Shah has been appointed as the Central Observer for the election of the BJP legislative party leader, who is expected to become the next Chief Minister of the state. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has been named co-observer for the process.
The BJP’s emphatic mandate has transformed the political landscape of Bengal, ending the 15-year dominance of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The saffron party secured a remarkable 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the TMC was reduced to just 80 seats. The victory also marked the first time that the BJP is set to form a government in the state.
Among the frontrunners for the chief minister’s post are senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and party MLA Agnimitra Paul. The final decision is expected to emerge after the legislature party meeting later in the day.
Soon after Shah’s arrival, BJP MP Rahul Sinha launched a sharp attack on the opposition, saying that those who had predicted chaos and claimed Union leaders would not be able to enter the state after the election results had been proven wrong.
“Those arrogant people who said that Amit Shah or any central minister would not be able to come here after the 4th, see today Amit Shah has come here. And those who said such things are sitting at home,” Sinha remarked.
He further stated that the suspense over the chief ministerial face would end soon. “The leader will be decided in the legislature party meeting, and everything will be clear by 6 pm,” he added.
Meanwhile, political tensions in Bengal remain high. Governor R N Ravi dissolved the state legislative assembly on Thursday after the BJP’s decisive win and the refusal of outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to resign from office.
Mamata Banerjee, who lost the high-profile Bhabanipur seat to Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of over 15,000 votes according to the Election Commission of India, maintained that she had not accepted defeat and declined to visit Raj Bhavan to tender her resignation.
The political transition has also been overshadowed by violence. In a shocking incident, Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead by unidentified bike-borne assailants in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district late Wednesday night. Rath sustained bullet injuries to the head, chest and abdomen and was declared dead at the hospital.
Police later recovered the motorcycle allegedly used in the attack and brought it to the Madhyamgram police station as part of the investigation. The incident has intensified concerns over post-poll violence and security in the state during the ongoing political transition.
With Amit Shah personally supervising the selection process and the BJP preparing to take charge in Bengal for the first time, the developments mark a defining moment in the state’s political history and could reshape the regional political equation for years to come.
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