Samik Bhattacharya elected new Bengal BJP president, vows to end TMC's 'misrule'

Kolkata: Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya was on Wednesday officially named the new president of the West Bengal BJP, with the party tasking him to lead its charge in the 2026 assembly elections — a battle he described as a fight to save the state’s culture and pluralism from what he termed the "corrupt misrule" of the TMC.

Bhattacharya was elected unopposed, with no other candidate filing a nomination for the post by the stipulated deadline on Wednesday afternoon.

The formal announcement came during a felicitation ceremony at the Science City auditorium here, in the presence of senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who handed over the certificate of election to Bhattacharya.

He had submitted his nomination papers on Wednesday at the party’s state headquarters in Salt Lake, accompanied by outgoing president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

Bhattacharya now takes charge at a critical juncture, with the West Bengal Assembly elections less than a year away.

"In Bengal, we started from a position where we were considered non-existent. But we never compromised on our ideology. Today, the people of this state have given us a position. The defeat of the TMC is imminent," Bhattacharya said in his first address to party workers after taking over.

The people of the state have made up their minds to end the misrule of this corrupt TMC government in the next Assembly polls, he asserted.

Calling the 2026 Assembly elections a "fight for the existence of the culture, pluralism and heritage of Bengal", Bhattacharya alleged that these values are facing a threat under the TMC rule.

“The BJP in Bengal is not against minorities but against the politics of violence and communalism,” he added.

Outgoing state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar termed the transition a natural process in the party’s functioning.

"This is a relay race, where the race continues but the baton changes hands. I had taken over from Dilip Ghosh, and today Samik-da is taking over from me. We secured 38 per cent vote share, and I hope that under his leadership we will improve on it and oust the TMC government in the next election,” Majumdar said.

Strengthening the party’s organisational machinery and expanding its base across the state are expected to be Bhattacharya’s top priorities.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP had won 77 seats. Since then, the tally has dropped to 65, with 12 seats lost due to either by-polls following the demise of elected MLAs or defections to the ruling TMC.

Bhattacharya’s key challenges include ensuring better coordination between the party’s organisational and legislative wings, unifying the various factions within the state BJP, and countering the TMC’s sustained attempt to portray the BJP as "anti-Bengali" and an "outsider party"—a narrative that has gained traction in past elections.

Political observers believe it remains to be seen how Bhattacharya, known for his articulate communication skills and deep-rooted association with the BJP and RSS, navigates these challenges.