Suvendu’s first Murshidabad visit after taking office as BJP eyes Rejinagar bypoll

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to visit Murshidabad on Friday for the first time after assuming office ahead of the assembly by-election in Rejinagar.

While the Chief Minister will review development and administrative issues with senior district officials, the BJP is also expected to use the visit to sharpen its campaign for the Rejinagar bypoll, where the party hopes to wrest the seat from Humayun Kabir’s Am Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP).

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The BJP leadership in the district believes Adhikari’s visit could provide momentum to the party’s campaign ahead of the by-election.

BJP sources claim that Adhikari will arrive in Berhampore from Kolkata by helicopter. His first engagement will be a meeting with members of the BJP’s Berhampore organisational district core committee at a private hotel from 2 p.m. to around 3.30 p.m.

Berhampore organisational district BJP president Malay Mahajan said the meeting would be attended by the district office-bearers, organisational district in-charge, general secretaries, all BJP MLAs under the organisational district, a former district president, and senior party leaders Nirmal Saha and Yadavendra Pandey.

After the organisational meeting, the chief minister is scheduled to proceed to Rabindra Sadan in Berhampore, where he will chair an administrative review meeting with senior district officials till around 4.30 p.m. He is also expected to address the media after the meeting.

From Berhampore, Adhikari will fly to Tokipur in Rejinagar, where he will address a BJP Karyakarta Sammelan at the Tokipur High Madrasa ground. Although officially described as a workers’ convention, BJP leaders expect the programme to attract a large public gathering.

Mahajan said the chief minister’s return to Kolkata or overnight stay in Murshidabad would depend on the duration of the day’s engagements. He added that, according to the information available so far, the two state ministers elected from Murshidabad, Gourishankar Ghosh and Gargi Das Ghosh, are unlikely to attend the organisational meeting but may participate in the administrative review.

The BJP leader also referred to remarks made earlier by Humayun Kabir in Rejinagar, claiming that the Chief Minister had already responded to those statements on the floor of the Assembly.

He expressed hope that Adhikari would reiterate the government’s commitment to strengthening the rule of law during his address in Rejinagar. Mahajan said the BJP and the AJUP had contested separately in the 2026 Assembly election, when Kabir had claimed his party would hold the key to government formation irrespective of the outcome.

However, he argued that the election results demonstrated that the AJUP had no such influence over the government.
He further maintained that the outcome of the Rejinagar bypoll would not affect the stability of the state government.

According to him, even if the BJP fails to win the seat, the party’s overall strength in the Assembly would remain unchanged, whereas a defeat for the AJUP would reduce its representation in the House.

Mahajan also expressed optimism that Adhikari could announce development initiatives for Rejinagar, including proposals relating to an industrial estate, new educational institutions and improved ferry infrastructure in the Ramnagar and Narkelbari areas.

Observing that Rejinagar has a predominantly minority electorate, Mahajan said a BJP victory in the constituency would send a significant political message nationally and help bridge trust deficits between Hindu and minority communities in certain areas.