The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) witnessed a historic day when Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bengal. This is the first time ever that a BJP leader has become the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Adhikari, who was once a loyal aide to former Prime Minister W.M Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee defected to the BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the assembly for five years before finally ending his former boss’s 15-year rule.
Adhikari’s rise as Bengal’s chief minister not only made headlines across India, but also across the eastern border in Bangladesh.
Most newspapers in India’s eastern neighbor carried the news of Suvendu Adhikari’s promotion to the position of Bengal captain on their front pages.
This is what some of them said:
How Bangladeshi media covered Suvendu Adhikari’s transformation into Bengal CM
The Dhaka Tribune newspaper published Suvendu Adhikari on its front page under the headline, “India’s Bharatiya Janata Party appoints chief minister in West Bengal after its landslide victory.”
The article noted that the result in Bengal put Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a stronger footing “as he faces a series of economic and foreign policy challenges.”
The Bangladesh Post also carried the news on its front page, although it is almost like a footer. “BJP appoints Suvendu Adhikari as West Bengal state president,” its headline read. The content of the article was the same as that of the Dhaka Tribune, sourced from Agence France-Presse.
The Daily Star ran with the headline ‘Suvendu named West Bengal CM’, saying Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the BJP in December 2020 after leaving the Trinamool Congress, where he was once a close associate of Banerjee, has emerged as an obvious choice.
Even Bengali language newspapers prominently featured the appointment of Suvendu Adhikari as Bengal Affairs Minister on their front pages.
Suvendu Adhikari takes oath
Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday took oath as the first BJP chief minister of West Bengal since independence, officially ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule in the state at a high-security ceremony held at Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata.
prime minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several senior BJP leaders attended the swearing-in ceremony, which attracted thousands of BJP supporters from across Bengal and neighboring states.
Supporters carrying BJP flags and raising slogans gathered at various points before heading towards the venue. “It is a historic day. We have come to witness West Bengal gaining independence from the clutches of the TMC,” said a supporter from Jharkhand.
Adhikari’s elevation was formalized on Friday after Amit Shah was declared leader of the BJP legislative council at a meeting of 207 party members in Kolkata.
“A meeting of our legislative party was held in West Bengal. The BJP national president nominated me and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Sharan Majhi as central observers. We received nearly eight proposals, and all of them suggested the same name,” Shah said.
The BJP achieved a historic victory in the two-phase assembly elections, winning 207 of the 294 seats, while the TMC’s seats were reduced to 80 seats.
