India, May 10 -- He was one of the principal architects of Mamata Banerjee's rise to power.
On the morning of May 9, 2026, as Suvendu Adhikari raised his right hand at Brigade Parade Ground to take the oath of office as West Bengal's ninth Chief Minister, the irony was inescapable. The man being sworn in had spent the better part of his career helping build the very political machine he just dismantled. He was one of the principal architects of Mamata Banerjee's rise to power; now, he is the face of her political extinction.
Born into a political dynasty in Purba Medinipur, forged in the fires of a farmers' uprising, and tempered by the bitterest of personal rivalries, the 55-year-old who took oath at Brigade Parade Ground today is one of...