Six months ago, Bengal voted for "poriborton" again.
On 9 May 2026, Suvendu Adhikari took oath as West Bengal's 9th Chief Minister at Brigade Parade Ground - the state's first BJP Chief Minister, ending 15 years of Trinamool rule with a 207-seat mandate.
What has changed since?
From Nabanna to Writers' Building, from a new industrial policy that promises to scrap TMC-era regulations, to promises of stricter laws on "love jihad" and "land jihad" and a renewed cultural battle over language, food and identity - the Adhikari government is not just changing policy, it is reshaping Bengal's civilisational narrative.
Reporter Rakhi Bose is on the ground for the next six months tracking how Bengal's institutions, culture, and collective identity are being remade, and what it means for the people who live it.
The Crime Data - The 2,454 Rape Question:
Six months into the Adhikari tenure, the sharpest attack from the Opposition has come on law and order. According to State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) data procured via an RTI filed by former TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale, West Bengal recorded 2,454 cases of rape, 600 murders, 13,114 attempts to murder and 32,341 cases of grievous assault between May to 24 September 2026 - the first five months of the BJP government.
TMC's data break-up shows 349 rapes in May, 389 in June, 786 in July, 459 in August and 471 in September, translating to an average of 16 rapes per day. TMC has demanded a special Assembly session, saying "2,400+ RAPE CASES IN BENGAL IN JUST 5 MONTHS UNDER BJP!".
The BJP government rejects the claim that crime has risen. Chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar says the surge is because of transparency - delayed complaints from the TMC era, including rape and post-poll violence cases, are now being registered after the change of guard. An IPS officer told The Wire on condition of anonymity that 1,600 of the 48,509 total cases were old incidents from the previous government.
Corruption - Has It Come Down? The government came to power promising to clean up corruption, especially after the RG Kar case. On 18 May 2026, CM Adhikari sanctioned ED prosecution of former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh under PMLA and Prevention of Corruption Act, accusing the previous TMC government of stalling it for 1.5 years. But even from within the ruling camp, the question is being raised. Panihati BJP MLA Ratna Debnath - mother of the RG Kar rape-murder victim - said on 2 November: "Even though there has been a change in government, the same people are still around. Corruption has not come down" in medical colleges.
She has alleged she received files of graft in medical colleges and will approach CM Adhikari for action.
So the narrative of Bengal's Saffron Turn is double-edged: a new industrial policy and UCC promise on one side, and on the other, SCRB data and insider allegations that are forcing the new government to answer whether a change of regime has meant a change in reality.
This is not headline journalism. It's ground reports from districts, newsrooms, campuses and kitchens.