Suvendu Adhikari took oath as West Bengal Chief Minister at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade on Saturday, capping the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) march from the margins of state politics to the seat of power.
Adhikari, wearing a saffron-coloured kurta, was sworn in as the state’s first BJP chief minister, in a ceremony that doubled as a show of national strength for the National Democratic Alliance.
The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, several other Union ministers and chief ministers from a number of NDA-ruled states, along with popular names from the Bengali entertainment industry.
“A political party based on the ideals of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee does not need any certificate. I am the Prime Minister now, and I belong to everyone,” Adhikari said after the ceremony. He added: “Bengal has been greatly damaged. Education has been lost, culture has been destroyed… We will rebuild Bengal. There is a great responsibility on our shoulders.”
Modi congratulated Adhikari and wished him a fruitful tenure. He said on Channel
Besides the 51-year-old Prime Minister, five BJP leaders – Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshodiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik – were sworn in as ministers, reflecting the representation of various castes and social groups in the Cabinet. Adhikari said the portfolios would be distributed on Monday.
The Council of Ministers can certainly be expanded during the term of the government, such that its maximum size, including the Council of Ministers, does not exceed 15% of the strength of the State Assembly. In West Bengal, that number will reach 44. Late on Saturday, the governor’s office said the swearing-in of the enlarged cabinet will take place at Lok Bhavan at 3 pm on Sunday.
“Congratulations to Dilip Ghosh ji, Agnimitra Paul ji, Ashok Kirtania ji, Nisith Pramanik ji and Kshodiram Tudu ji on being sworn in as ministers… These leaders have worked tirelessly at the grassroots level and served the people,” Modi said in another post.
The BJP registered a historic victory in West Bengal for the first time since independence on May 4, winning 207 of the state’s 294 Assembly seats. Adhikari, a former loyalist of Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, defeated her from Bhabanipur and also retained his stronghold in Nandigram. He was appointed leader of the BJP’s state legislative party on Friday.
“Today is a great day for all those in this country who consider Mother India sacred and live their lives in devotion to her. Today is a great day for all those in this country who consider Mother India sacred and live their lives in devotion to her,” Shah said at an event in Chitradurga, Karnataka state, later in the day. Because on the same land where Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the pioneer of our ideology, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, were born, the saffron flag is raised there today.”
Located in the heart of Kolkata, Brigade Parade, which was once considered an ideological symbol of Left dominance and later became the scene of Trinamool Congress power shows, on Saturday saw the BJP come to power in the state, hosting its swearing-in ceremony for the first time.
Thousands of party workers, many of them wearing saffron scarves and carrying party flags, began gathering at the venue from early morning while giant LED screens showed Modi and Adhikari’s election campaign speeches. When Modi took to the stage, he knelt down facing the crowd and touched his forehead on the stage with folded hands, eliciting loud cheers from BJP supporters gathered at the historic venue. He also congratulated and sought blessings from 98-year-old Makhanlal Sarkar, a popular BJP worker.
“I have come from Bankura. I did not want to miss this occasion. It is rare to see so many senior BJP leaders from different parts of the country at one platform,” Shirchendu Sekhar Dhana, a BJP supporter, told local media.
BJP officers also paid tribute to party activists who were allegedly killed in clashes with the TMC over the past few years, saying their sacrifices would be remembered as a source of strength for the party. A temporary memorial to the deceased party workers was erected near the theatre, displaying the names of the “martyrs” and the areas they came from on a large plaque.
Sharing a photo of the memorial on Echoing this sentiment, Shah said the memory of fallen party workers would continue to inspire BJP cadres as the party begins its first term in power in West Bengal.
The swearing-in ceremony coincided with the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. After the ceremony, Adhikari drove to Jorasanko Thakurbari, Tagore’s ancestral home, and presented flowers.
This job also attracted a wide range of political leaders and cultural figures. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister JP Nadda and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were present, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami. Swearing-in ceremony.
Actors Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jeet, Jisshu Sengupta and popular classical singer Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarti were also in attendance.
