Who Is Rathindra Bose? First MLA From North Bengal To Become Assembly Speaker

Last Updated:May 15, 2026, 16:02 IST

Tapas Roy declared Rathindra Bose elected as the Speaker of the assembly after all 207 BJP lawmakers extended their support in his favour.

West Bengal Assembly Speaker: BJP MLA from Cooch Behar, Rathindra Bose, was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the 18th West Bengal Assembly on Friday.

His name was proposed in the House by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, following which pro tem Speaker Tapas Roy conducted a voice vote. With this, Bose has become the first legislator from the northern part of the state to hold the post.

Roy declared Bose elected as the Speaker of the assembly after all 207 BJP lawmakers extended their support in his favour.

Who Is Rathindra Bose?

Bose, a chartered accountant by profession and a longtime RSS associate before entering active politics, was elected from the Cooch Behar constituency after defeating Trinamool Congress candidate Avijit De Bhowmik by 23,284 votes, or a margin of 11.4 percentage points.

Bose created history by becoming the first MLA from north Bengal to be appointed Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly in the post-Independence era.

The Chief Minister on Thursday announced Bose as the BJP’s candidate for the Speaker’s post in the newly constituted 18th West Bengal assembly, while the opposition TMC decided not to field a nominee.

Congratulating him on the appointment, Adhikari said that Bose brings valuable administrative knowledge along with organisational experience to the position.

Bose’s election as Speaker became a certainty the moment the BJP announced his name, as the opposition TMC chose not to field a candidate. The party’s decision to stay out of the contest paved the way for his unopposed election.

His selection is also seen as a departure from a long-observed political convention in the state, where parties traditionally preferred lawyers or legislators with legal backgrounds for the Speaker’s chair.

During the previous TMC regime, veteran legislator Biman Banerjee served as Speaker.

Earlier, under Left Front governments, figures such as Syed Abdul Mansur Habibullah and Hashim Abdul Halim had occupied the chair.

Political observers believe Bose’s nomination reflects not just an administrative choice but also the BJP leadership’s attempt to balance regional aspirations and reward emerging faces as it seeks to consolidate its political footprint after scripting a historic power shift in Bengal.

(With inputs from agencies)

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