Suvendu outruns old BJP on Hindutva turf
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is increasingly adopting a hardline Hindutva political stance, drawing comparisons to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. This shift is creating friction with the traditional, older guard of the BJP in West Bengal.
Why it matters
It highlights internal ideological shifts within the BJP as it integrates leaders from other parties, potentially altering the party's regional political strategy.
Suvendu outruns old BJP on Hindutva turf Political line left https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/xoj36w/article71617277.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/image%20-%202026-10-23T211741.961.jpg (This is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter curated by Varghese K. George. The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is one among the BJP’s pantheon of leaders who have crossed over from a different party. His strident pursuit of Hindutva politics is putting him at odds with the old school of the BJP in the State. Mr. Adhikari seems to have taken a leaf out of Himanta Biswa Sarma’s book. The Assam Chief Minister was in the Congress for most of his career until he joined the BJP in August 2015. Soon after, he became a Cabinet Minister in the first BJP government of Assam and the Northeast in May 2016.
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