09 May,2026 06:46 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut. File Pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday raised questions over the BJP's position on Suvendu Adhikari, alleging that the party, which once ran a "major campaign" against him, has now made him the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Addressing a press conference, Raut claimed inconsistency in the BJP's stand and referred to past allegations against Adhikari.
"Suvendu Adhikari will take oath as West Bengal CM. Only a few years ago, the BJP itself ran a major campaign against him, exposing corruption and even showing him on camera taking bribes. Social media was full of posts calling him corrupt, and ED raids followed. Yet today, the same person is going to be the Chief Minister," he alleged earlier in the day.
Raut further added that the political developments highlight contradictions in public narratives built by parties over time, though he stopped short of making any independent legal claims beyond political criticism.
Adhikari on Saturday took oath as West Bengal's first BJP chief minister, marking a major saffron shift in the state's political landscape.
The BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member assembly in the recently concluded elections, ending the 15-year rule of the Trinamool Congress and recording its biggest electoral success in eastern India.
Responding to the allegations made by Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, BJP Spokesperson Navnath Ban said that while allegations against Adhikari have not been proven, Raut has already spent time in jail.
"Suvendu Adhikari has not been found guilty, but Sanjay Raut has been to jail," he said.
Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in August 2022 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the Mumbai Patra Chawl redevelopment project. He spent more than three months in jail before being granted bail by a special court.
Ban also alleged that the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was involved in corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BJP leader said cracks in the INDIA bloc were visible with the developments in Tamil Nadu involving the DMK and the Congress.
"Uddhav Thackeray should also be cautious as Congress will stab him as well in the back," he added.
(With ANI and PTI inputs)
