Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari Retains Bhabanipur Seat, Vacates Nandigram After Landmark Victory

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has decided to retain the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency — the high-profile seat where he defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the 2026 Assembly elections — while vacating his long-held Nandigram seat. 

The move comes days after Adhikari led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a historic victory in West Bengal, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule in the state. Adhikari had contested and won from both Bhabanipur and Nandigram in the recently concluded elections. 

“I have taken oath from Bhabanipur. As per the rules, I have to vacate one seat,” the newly-elected Bengal CM said.

He further asserted that despite the decision to let go of his home turf, people of Nandigram will not feel his absence and that he will continue to take care of his constituency. 

“However, I will continue to look after the Nandigram constituency. I will not let Nandigram feel that Suvendu Adhikari is no longer there. I will keep a close watch on everything. I have been overseeing it since the time of Firoza Bibi,” CM Adhikari added.

Bhabanipur emerged as the most closely watched constituency in the election, with Adhikari taking on Mamata Banerjee in her political stronghold. According to Election Commission figures cited by Times of India, Adhikari secured 73,917 votes against Banerjee’s 58,812, defeating the sitting chief minister by a margin of 15,105 votes. 

The BJP leader’s decision to keep Bhabanipur is being viewed as politically significant, given the constituency’s symbolic value in Bengal politics. Bhabanipur had long been associated with Mamata Banerjee, who had used the seat to return to the Assembly in 2011 and again after her defeat in Nandigram in 2021. 

Earlier this week, Adhikari had acknowledged that constitutional rules would require him to vacate one of the two seats within ten days of the election results. During a public meeting in Nandigram, he told supporters that he would not “abandon duty” while deciding which constituency to retain. 

By choosing Bhabanipur, Adhikari has retained the constituency that delivered one of the most dramatic electoral upsets in recent Bengal politics. Political observers view the move as an attempt by the BJP to consolidate its breakthrough in Kolkata and strengthen its presence in an area historically dominated by the Trinamool Congress. 

Adhikari on Saturday took oath as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Nandigram, meanwhile, has remained central to Adhikari’s political rise. 

The constituency first brought him national attention during the anti-land acquisition movement and later became the site of his 2021 electoral battle against Mamata Banerjee. In the 2026 elections, he successfully retained the seat while simultaneously contesting Bhabanipur. 

Adhikari, once a close aide of Mamata Banerjee in the Trinamool Congress, has emerged as the BJP’s most prominent face in Bengal politics. His victory in Bhabanipur and subsequent elevation as the state’s first BJP chief minister marked a major political shift in the state.