While Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the first BJP chief minister of Bengal on Saturday, several party leaders took oath as ministers on Saturday morning at Brigade Parade in Kolkata. They included some prominent party leaders like Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik. Track updates on Bengal government oath ceremony
Kiranya shared a heartfelt moment on stage after taking the oath. When he went to meet Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister hugged him warmly.
In the recently concluded Bengal elections, which ended in a historic BJP victory and ousted the TMC from power after 15 years, Kirtaniya retained the Pangaon Uttar seat, strengthening the saffron party’s presence in the politically important Matua belt on the border with Bangladesh.
The rise of Ashok Kirtania in Bengali politics
Kirtanya Biswajit Das defeated the TMC’s MP by 40,670 votes in the assembly elections, the results of which were announced on May 4. The BJP leader has managed to establish himself in the key constituency as he widened his polling margin in this year’s polls by more than 30,000 votes. In 2021, he defeated TMC’s Shyamal Roy by 10,488 votes.
Kirtani comes from local regulatory politics and has a background in business.
In the wake of the SIR delistings, where perceptions of disenfranchisement among the migrant Hindu Namashudra refugee community were evident, Kirtania’s achievement put an end to speculation about anti-BJP sentiments.
Oath-taking ceremony of the Government of Bengal
As Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took oath along with five ministers on Saturday, representatives from the northern and southern regions of the state were appointed to the cabinet, but none from Kolkata. The Cabinet reflects the diverse ethnic fabric of West Bengal, and represents communities, including the Matwas and Santhals.
Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshodiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik took oath at the ceremony attended by senior NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
West Bengal recorded the highest ever voter turnout since independence with a staggering 91.66% polling in the second phase of the Assembly elections. In the first stage, the participation rate in the survey reached 93.19%, bringing the combined survey percentage to 92.47%.
The results of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections ushered in a radical political shift, ending Mamata Banerjee’s long dominance and bringing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power with 206 seats. This is a major blow to the All India Trinamool Congress, which got just 80 seats – a sharp decline.
