BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, former TMC leader, is seen as the strongest contender for West Bengal's CM post. Trained in RSS shakhas, he entered politics in 1980s and became councillor in 1995. Once seen as Mamata Banerjee's political successor, he left TMC in 2020 and joined BJP. He defeated Mamata twice, first in Nandigram in 2021 and again in Bhabanipur yesterday.