West Bengal CM Adhikari courts big industry, cites Ambani meet and Adani visit

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Tuesday that he is receiving backing from across the country for reviving industry in the state, and expressed confidence that major corporate houses would step forward to invest.

Speaking to reporters in Cooch Behar, Mr. Adhikari said investment would flow into Bengal, and that large players would commit funds both out of a sense of duty towards the country and to help the state recover. He blamed the earlier Left and Trinamool Congress governments for the state's industrial decline, and said he had received assurances of support from many quarters.

The Chief Minister referred to his meeting with Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai on Monday, which he attended alongside an event hosted by Mr. Ambani's son, Anant Ambani. In a social media post, Mr. Adhikari said the two had discussed the "immense possibilities for industrial growth and employment generation in West Bengal", and described the state as ready to welcome investments that would create opportunities for young people and drive economic revival. He thanked Mr. Ambani, his wife Nita Ambani and the family for their hospitality.

Mr. Adhikari also said Gautam Adani, chairperson of the Adani Group, will visit Kolkata on September 24 to lay the foundation stone of a 2,000-bed hospital. Three major projects are expected to be launched during the visit, including the renovation of Writers' Buildings and the redevelopment of the Kumartuli ghat in north Kolkata.

Reviving industry and attracting investment is among the foremost challenges before the BJP government in the state. Along with the Chief Minister, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has been meeting industry leaders in an effort to shed West Bengal's reputation as an unfriendly destination for business.

Mr. Bhattacharya, a Rajya Sabha MP, met Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on September 20 and urged the conglomerate to expand its business and industrial presence in the state. He said he had written to Mr. Birla requesting investment, and claimed that the CPI-M's labour wing, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, had mistreated the late Aditya Birla, discouraging the group from returning to the state. Mr. Birla is expected to meet Mr. Adhikari in the coming days, Mr. Bhattacharya said, adding that their discussions on industrial development and investment had been positive, with the aim of making West Bengal a key hub for industry and employment.