Amit Shah on Friday announced Suvendu Adhikari as the next Chief Minister of West Bengal, paving the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first-ever government in the state following a historic victory in the recently concluded Assembly elections.

The development marks the end of 15 years of rule by the All India Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.

Suvendu Adhikari was formally elected leader of the BJP legislature party at a meeting held in Kolkata on Friday. Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh proposed Adhikari’s name during the meeting, which was attended by Amit Shah, appointed as the party’s central observer, and Mohan Charan Majhi, who served as co-observer.

Born on December 15, 1970, Suvendu Adhikari will become the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal. He joined the BJP in December 2020 after ending his long association with the Trinamool Congress.

Before joining the BJP, Adhikari served in the West Bengal government from 2016 to 2020. He was also a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Tamluk between 2009 and 2016. In addition, he served as the chairperson of the Jute Corporation of India from 2020 to 2021.

Adhikari began his political career with the Indian National Congress, where he was a member from 1995 to 1998, before joining the Trinamool Congress in 1998. He remained with the party until 2020, when he switched allegiance to the BJP.