Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the first Chief Minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of West Bengal in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the swearing-in ceremony at Brigade Parade in Kolkata on Saturday.
This is the first time that any Chief Minister of the state has taken oath at the Brigade Parade Ground. While previous prime ministers took oath at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, former chief minister Mamata Banerjee took oath on Red Road in 2016 when she returned to power for the second time in a row.
Besides Adhikari, five other BJP leaders – Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Nisith Pramanik and Kshodiram Tudu – were sworn in as ministers by West Bengal Governor RN Ravi.
The BJP had swept the state assembly elections held in April this year, winning 207 of the 294 seats. The Transitional Military Council won 80 seats. Adhikari defeated TMC chief Mamata Banerjee from her home base of Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes. But Banerjee refused to resign from the post of Prime Minister. The governor dissolved the Legislative Council on May 7.
“Congratulations to Shri Suvendu Adhikari Ji on being sworn in as Chief Minister of West Bengal… Congratulations to Dilip Ghosh Ji, Agnimitra Paul Ji, Ashok Kirtania Ji, Nisith Pramanik Ji and Kshudiram Tudu Ji on being sworn in as Ministers of the West Bengal Government. These leaders have worked tirelessly at the grassroots level and served the people. I am confident that they will further the development journey of West Bengal as Ministers. Best wishes,” he wrote. Moody on X.
Shah had on Friday announced Adhikari as the president of the BJP’s West Bengal parliamentary party at a meeting of all 207 elected MLAs in Kolkata.
The date for the swearing-in was chosen on May 9 as it coincides with the birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. An elaborate and colorful ceremony was organized with the essence of Bengali culture around every corner. Several stalls selling Bengali sweets and jalmuri (spicy puffed rice) have been set up at the Brigade Parade Ground. Folk artists can be seen performing tribal dances and chow dance.
At the ceremony, Modi touched the feet of BJP veteran Makhanlal Sarkar, who was arrested in 1952 while accompanying Syama Prasad Mukherjee in Kashmir.
BJP leaders had earlier said that the new government headed by Adhikari would function from the iconic 246-year-old Writers’ Buildings. While previous governments worked from there, former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shifted the secretariat to Nabanna in Howrah.
