West Bengal had been an ultimate test of saffron ideological prowess for years, and Suvendu Adhikari proved to be a key catalyst to realise the aims of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). There was no hesitation on the part of the BJP leadership to fulfil the ultimate ambition of Suvendu Adhikari in becoming the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Fifty-six years old Adhikari, a bachelor, was a key strategist, if not the architect, of the Nandigram agitation that had launched Mamata Banerjee on the path of uprooting the 34 years of the Left rule in West Bengal. Suvendu Adhikari had learnt the fine arts of politics from his father, Sisir Adhikari, who was a Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Manmohan Singh-led government. In over two decades, Sisir Adhikari carved out a distinct political identity in West Bengal, becoming an MLA first in 2001 and a Lok Sabha MP (2009-24).
Over the years, Suvendu Adhikari, who had joined the Trinamool Congress after quitting the Congress, rose in the ranks to eventually gain the description of the number two in the Mamata Banerjee-led outfit. He hoped to inherit the political legacy of Mamata Banerjee, but to his dismay, he saw the arrival of Abhishek Banerjee and he knew that his political mentor had chosen her nephew as heir and not him.