Even as political frenzy and public excitement swept across Bengal during the swearing-in of Suvendu Adhikari as the chief minister of the first BJP-led government in Bengal, Santikunj, his ancestral home in East Midnapore's Contai, wore the quiet, unassuming look of any ordinary day.
There were no celebrations, no special arrangements, no political fanfare and hardly any visible indication that the second son of this modest household had just taken oath as Bengal’s ninth chief minister.
The contrast between the charged atmosphere outside and the calm simplicity inside the Adhikari residence perhaps reflected the political culture from which Suvendu emerged — a long journey rooted in grassroots mobilisation, organisational battles and years of political turbulence.
Even the security arrangements at Santikunj remained largely unchanged. A company of Central Armed Police Force personnel, deployed since the Assembly elections, continued to guard Santikunj.
Till Saturday afternoon, there was no visible enhancement in security deployment, no traffic curbs outside the residence and no outward transformation that usually accompanies the elevation of a political leader to the state’s top executive office.
Inside the house, too, life was normal.
Suvendu’s elderly parents — veteran politician Sisir Adhikari and Gayatri Devi — watched television channels that showed their son taking oath in Calcutta.
Gayatri remained engrossed in her daily routine of preparing paan for guests.
Sitting with a tray of betel nuts, a nutcracker in hand, she said: “We (she and husband Sisir) could not go to Calcutta because of our health. We watched the oath-taking ceremony on television. I am happy. But today the people of Bengal are happier than I am.”
She smiled: “Every day I prepare around 20 paans for guests, keeping only two for myself. However, Suvendu never developed a habit of eating paan.”
Sharing details of her son’s food preferences, Gayatri said: “Suvendu likes hot rice soaked in cold water, typical Bengali dishes made with rohu and hilsa, masoor dal, postor bora and chicken. I cook them only when he eats at home.”
At the Adhikari residence, lunch on Saturday was no different from any other day — rice, lentils and rohu fish curry.
On an emotional note, Gayatri recalled the years of political struggle her son went through since the Nandigram movement, which transformed him into one of Bengal’s most influential political figures.
“He has been constantly on the move since the days of the Nandigram movement. He could never tolerate injustice. There were several attempts on his life, but I never saw him worried or tense. We always remained anxious,” she said.
The rise of Suvendu from a key organiser of the Trinamool Congress to the face of the BJP’s expansion in Bengal has remained one of the most defining political shifts in the state’s recent history.
On the turning point in her son’s political journey, Gayatri said: “Suvendu was the youth president of the party. But Mamata gave that post overnight to her nephew (Abhishek Banerjee). From that day, Suvendu became very angry with Mamata.”
As a mother, she has both personal and public concerns about the new chief minister.
“Punishment for those who killed women, including Abhaya, security for women, jobs for youths and housing for the poor are some uncompromising issues. I want my son to ensure they are done,” she said.
Suvendu's father Sisir Adhikari struggled to hold back tears after witnessing his son take oath.
“I am a proud father. Since the days of Ajoy Mukherjee (former chief minister with roots in Tamluk), Midnapore has been deprived. I should have quit Trinamool Congress long ago, but I could not show the courage that Suvendu did. Today, he has become the chief minister and freed people from lawlessness and autocracy."
Later in the day, Sisir said: "It would have been better for the state if this had come five years earlier. It didn't, because Mamata (Banerjee) stole the people's verdict in 2021."