India, May 5 -- Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of opposition in West Bengal assembly, who defeated chief minister Mamata Banerjee in her home constituency Bhabanipur on Monday, has emerged as the front-runner for the chief ministerial post after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the assembly polls in the eastern state, party functionaries said.

The BJP won the West Bengal assembly polls for the first time on Monday, winning 206 of the state's 293 seats for which counting took place. Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) won (or was leading from) 81 seats.

BJP leaders, however, said the party has not ruled out names of state unit chief Samik Bhattacharya and vice-president Agnimitra Paul as other probable CM face. Paul won from Asansol ...