The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Rathindra Bose is set to become the next Speaker of the State Assembly after he was nominated for the post by the party on Thursday. The 65-year-old leader is currently an MLA from Cooch Behar Dakshin. The development was announced by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. "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 (sic)," the CM wrote on X.
Reacting to the announcement, Bose said that if elected as Speaker, he would discharge his responsibilities with the motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas". The election for the Speaker's post is scheduled to be held on Friday. The TMC is yet to announce any candidate for the post. With the BJP having 207 MLAs in the 294-member assembly, the numbers are stacked in its favour.
Who is Rathindra Bose?
Rathindra Bose is a first-time MLA and also a practising Chartered Accountant (CA) by profession. He won the Cooch Behar Dakshin Assembly seat in the 2026 West Bengal election by defeating Trinamool Congress candidate Avijit De Bhowmik with a margin of 23,284 votes. Bose received 1,08,482 votes (52.81%) in the Cooch Behar Dakshin Assembly seat. He has been associated with the BJP and RSS for a long time.
Notably, this is the first occasion when a leader from North Bengal has been selected for the Speaker's post. Basu, who has been serving as the BJP's state vice-president, is known for his strong organisational skills in the region. He has long been involved in party activities in Siliguri and currently holds the position of convener of the BJP's North Bengal division. Although he is new to parliamentary responsibilities, Basu is regarded as an articulate and effective speaker.
Benagl Assembly Elections 2026
The 2026 Assembly election results marked a decisive mandate for the BJP, registering a significant surge, winning 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, a major shift in a state where it had earlier secured 77 seats in the previous election. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had won 212 seats in the last Assembly polls, finished a distant second with 80 seats and is leading in one constituency. Calling it the beginning of a new chapter for the state, Adhikari said the "Sonar Bangla" era had officially begun after the BJP's sweeping victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
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