BJP MLA Rathindra Bose, Cooch Behar Dakshin. File
| Photo Credit: FB/Rathindra Bose
The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in West Bengal has chosen Rathindra Bose as the party’s candidate for the post of Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
The elections for the post of the Speaker will be held on Friday (May 15, 2026). Going by the numbers, the BJP has a clear majority of 207 seats in the 294 member House.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the decision on Thursday (May 14, 2026) and urged Opposition parties to unanimously elect him as the Speaker.
“Shri Rathindra Bose, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA of the Cooch Behar Dakshin (South) Constituency, has been nominated as our Candidate for the Post of Hon’ble Speaker of the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly. I hope that his Candidature is supported by one and all and he gets elected unanimously,” Mr. Adhikari posted on social media.
After being nominated as the BJP’s candidate for the Speaker post, Mr. Bose said, “I will fulfil the responsibility given by the party. If necessary, I will take advice from experienced members of the Assembly.”
The BJP MLA submitted his nomination papers for the post of Speaker in the presence of the Chief Minister and other BJP MLAs.
Rathindra Bose, a first-time BJP MLA, is a chartered accountant by profession. Before he entered active politics, he was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In the 2026 Assembly elections, he defeated Trinamool candidate Abhijit De Bhowmik from the Cooch Behar South constituency by more than 23,000 votes. Rathindra is a first-time MLA.
During the Trinamool Congress rule, he Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly was Biman Banerjee, a lawyer and Trinamool MLA from the Baruipur Paschim constituency. Mr. Banerjee has managed to win his seat in this election.
During the Left Front era, Syed Abdul Mansur Habibullah and Hashim Abdul Halim became the Speakers of the Assembly respectively. Usually, political parties nominate someone who is a lawyer or a lawyer by profession as the Speaker. However, the prevailing practice has been broken this time with the nomination of Rathindra Bose.
Published – May 14, 2026 12:28 pm IST
