Synopsis
Suvendu Adhikari took oath as West Bengal’s ninth chief minister on Saturday. He leads the state’s first BJP government. Governor RN Ravi administered the oath at Brigade Parade Grounds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries attended the ceremony. Adhikari’s cabinet includes ministers from diverse backgrounds. The event marks a significant political shift in the state.
ANIAs the ninth chief minister of West Bengal on Saturday, to head the first BJP government in the state.
Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Adhikari and five members of his council of ministers at a ceremony at the Brigade Parade Grounds, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, other union ministers, chief ministers of NDA-ruled states and BJP leaders. Former BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, fashion-designerturned politician Agnimitra Paul, former minister of state for home Nisith Pramanik, and party legislators Ashok Kirtania and Khudiram Tudu were sworn in as state ministers.
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“May 9, 2026, shall be etched in history as a day of profound significance. This date will endure in memory as one that carried the weight of destiny and the promise of a new chapter of hope, dignity and good governance,” Modi posted on X after the ceremony. In a series of tweets, the prime minister also congratulated Adhikari and the other ministers and remembered Rabindranath Tagore and Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of BJP, among others.
Selection of the first five ministers from different backgrounds is seen as a subtle signal by BJP that the new government will consider people from all castes and backgrounds with equality without any bias.
LoP Yet to be Announced
Kirtania represents the Matua belt while Pramanik represents Raj- banshi, a predominant sect of peo- ple in North Bengal. Tudu repre- sents the tribal community. BJP won almost all the assembly constituencies where Matua and tribal voters are in majority. Those who attended the swearing- in included Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Uttar Pra- desh CM Yogi Adityanath and Odisha CM Mohan Majhi. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress is yet to announce the name of the leader of the opposition, the chair held by Adhikari from 2021 to 2026.
CM visits Tagore’s home
Adhikari, who took oath wearing a saffron kurta and dhoti on the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Ta- gore on Pochishe Boishakh, visited Jorasanko Thakurbari, residence of Tagore in Kolkata, after the oath ceremony.
“On this day, I have taken an oath. We have only one mantra of Swami Vivekananda ‘Choroiba- ti, Choroibati’. I want good sense prevails among people and let us re- construct a new Bengal. I am chief minister for all,” he said. He also visited Kalighat temple and the residence of Syama Prasad Mukherjee after the swearing-in. Adhikari, who earned the ‘giant killer’ tag in the 2021 assembly elections after defeating former CM Mamata Banerjee from Nandi- gram, this time unseated Banerjee from her home turf Bhabanipur, consolidating his position as the choice to lead BJP’s first govern- ment in the state.
During his poll campaigns, Amit Shah had several times said that the new chief minister will be a “son of the soil, a Bengali and one who had pursued his academic ca- reer in Bengali medium.”
Adhikari has traversed a long jo- urney in Bengal politics, from being Banerjee’s trusted lieutenant who spearheaded the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram to becoming the first BJP chief minister.
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PM Modi bows to people who had decided the date of Bengal oath on Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary, kneeled on the dais and bowed to the people of West Bengal while attending the swearing-in ceremony. After entering the Brigade Parade ground, Modi, accompanied by Ad- hikari and state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, rode an open- air jeep and waved at the thousands of BJP workers and supporters as- sembled at the venue.
