Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 3: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya was unanimously elected as the party’s West Bengal state president on Thursday, succeeding Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar.
Bhattacharya’s appointment marks a key leadership change as the BJP intensifies preparations to challenge the ruling Trinamool Congress in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls. A former MLA from Basirhat (2014-2016) and recently elected Rajya Sabha MP representing West Bengal (April 2024), Bhattacharya brings both legislative and organizational experience to his new role.
Majumdar, who had served as state president since September 2021, described the leadership transition as a “continuous relay race,” expressing confidence that the party would “uproot” the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the next elections. “Earlier, the fight used to occur under my leadership; now the fight will take place under the leadership of a new president,” he said.
The election ceremony, held at Science City in Kolkata, saw the presence of several senior BJP leaders, including Sunil Bansal, MP Ravi Shankar Prasad (who acted as Election In-charge), LoP Suvendu Adhikari, Amit Malviya, Mangal Pandey, and outgoing president Sukanta Majumdar.
Since no other nominations were submitted before the deadline of July 2, Bhattacharya was elected unopposed.
This leadership change in West Bengal is part of the BJP’s larger organisational revamp under the ongoing second phase of its Sangathan Parv (Organisational Drive). The party also appointed new chiefs in seven states—Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram—and two union territories—Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The move is aimed at strengthening the party’s grassroots structure ahead of key state and national elections.
While the West Bengal Assembly polls are due in 2026, the Election Commission has yet to announce an official date.