Kolkata/IBNS, July 3 -- In less than a year to go for the next West Bengal assembly elections, Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya was on Thursday elected as the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president unopposed.

Bhattacharya, 61, previously served as the MLA from Basirhat Dakshin. He was also the official state spokesperson of the party.

A common face in the regional BJP circuit, he succeeded Union Minister Sukanta Majumder as the party chief in the state.

Bhattacharya, who was the only person to have filed nomination for the post, was formally appointed by senior BJP Lok Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad at Science City in Kolkata.

Majumdar, West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and other key BJP leaders were present at th...