West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced that he would retain the Bhabanipur Assembly seat and give up representation from the Nandigram constituency.
“I cannot take oath as an MLA from two Assembly Constituencies. I have taken oath as the MLA from Bhabanipur. I will have to leave the Nandigram Assembly Constituency...” the BJP leader told reporters, according to ANI news agency.
In Tamil Nadu too, TVK chief and now chief minister Vijay contested and won from two seats – Perambur and Trichy East (Tiruchirappalli East). However, as per rules, he resigned from one seat – Trichy East – and retained Perambur.
Adhikari had won both the Bhabanipur and Nandigram seats in the recently concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal. However, he took oath in the state Assembly on Wednesday as an MLA from Bhabanipur. The chief minister further said that someone else would now be elected as MLA from Nandigram in bypolls.
{{/usCountry}}Adhikari had won both the Bhabanipur and Nandigram seats in the recently concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal. However, he took oath in the state Assembly on Wednesday as an MLA from Bhabanipur. The chief minister further said that someone else would now be elected as MLA from Nandigram in bypolls.
{{/usCountry}}‘Will fulfill all promises made to people of Nandigram’
However, while announcing his decision to give up the seat, Adhikari assured that he would fulfill all development-related promises made to the people of Nandigram.
“…I will not let the people there feel my absence during the next five years,” he said. “I will fulfil all development promises I made to the people of Nandigram alongside the rest of the state,” Adhikari told reporters outside the Bengal Assembly premises.
In Bhabanipur, Adikhari defeated Trinamool Congress chief and former CM Mamata Banerjee by a margin of 15,105 votes, in a contest which went down to the wire. Meanwhile, he also managed to defend his own seat Nandigram by a margin of 9,665 votes against TMC's Pabitra Kar.
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Adhikari was received in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Wednesday with a Guard of Honour. He bowed down to the steps of the Assembly before entering the House as a sign of respect, ANI news agency reported.
The 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal saw BJP forming government in the state for the first time, marking a decisive shift from the past. The party won 206 seats in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, witnessing a significant surge in comparison to the previous polls in the state, wherein it had won only 77 seats.
Meanwhile, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which had won 212 seats in the previous Assembly elections in 2021, was a distant second this time around with 80 seats.