Who Is Agnimitra Paul, BJP's Probable Chief Ministerial Face In West Bengal

Agnimitra Paul joined the BJP in 2019 and soon became the president of the BJP Mahila Morcha.

05 May 2026, 05:00 · www.ndtv.com

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Agnimitra Paul is a BJP MLA from Asansol Dakshin and former fashion designer
She joined BJP in 2019 and became president of BJP Mahila Morcha in West Bengal
Paul defeated TMC's Saayoni Ghosh in 2021 to enter the West Bengal Assembly

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New Delhi:

After the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) landslide victory in West Bengal, attention has now turned to the next big question: who will become the chief minister of the state?

Among the names being discussed is Agnimitra Paul, who left her career in fashion to join politics.

Who Is Agnimitra Paul?

Born on November 25, 1974, Paul is a BJP MLA from the Asansol Dakshin constituency in West Bengal. She is the daughter of Dr Ashok Roy, a pediatrician. After her graduation in Botany, she pursued a diploma in Fashion Technology from Birla Institute of Liberal Arts and Management Sciences and an MBA from TDB College.

Before entering politics, Agnimitra Paul was a well-known fashion designer and entrepreneur in Kolkata. She started her fashion brand called Inga and designed clothes for Bollywood films such as Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe and Via Darjeeling. She also presented her collection at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013.

Her work in fashion designing also includes creating costumes and personal wardrobes for several prominent personalities, such as Sridevi, Mithun Chakraborty, Kay Kay Menon, Shonal Rawat, Esha Deol, Parvin Dabas, Vinay Pathak and Sonali Kulkarni. She has also designed shawls and blankets that were gifted to former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Paul joined the BJP in 2019 and soon became the president of the BJP Mahila Morcha. During her tenure, she organised self-defense training workshops for women across 23 districts. Described as a firebrand leader, she entered the West Bengal Assembly for the first time in 2021 after defeating TMC candidate Saayoni Ghosh.

In January 2026, she was appointed as the vice-president of the BJP, West Bengal. She is married to entrepreneur Partho Paul, and they are parents to two children.

Other Potential Candidates

Opposition leader and one of the key faces driving BJP's politics in Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, is also a frontrunner for the top post. In addition, former BJP state president Dilip Ghosh and current state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya are also in the race.

Among other women leaders, actress-turned-politician Roopa Ganguly, best known for her role as Draupadi in Mahabharata, is also being considered as a possible candidate for the chief ministerial position.

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