SUVENDU ADHIKARI on Saturday took oath as West Bengal’s first BJP chief minister at the Brigade Parade Grounds, where the party formed a government in the state for the first time since Independence.
Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Adhikari in the presence of prime minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP leaders and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states. Chants of “Jai Shri Ram” and drumbeats rang out as BJP supporters gathered at the venue with saffron flags.
As Modi arrived on stage, he knelt facing the crowd and touched his forehead to the dais with folded hands, drawing cheers from supporters at the venue.
Adhikari, who won from both Bhabanipur and Nandigram, took the oath first. Senior BJP leader and former state unit president Dilip Ghosh was sworn in after him as a minister. BJP legislators Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik also took oath as ministers.
The six-member ministry reflected the BJP’s social and regional representation, with members from Brahmin, OBC, tribal, Matua and Rajbanshi communities. Adhikari is a Brahmin, Ghosh represents the OBC community, Agnimitra Paul is a Kayastha, Kirtania is a Matua leader, Tudu represents the tribal belt of Junglemahal, while Pramanik is seen as a Rajbanshi leader from north Bengal.
Two ministers in the BJP’s first cabinet are from north Bengal and three from south Bengal. There was no representative from Kolkata in the first list of ministers.
Sources said more ministers are likely to be sworn in at Raj Bhavan on Monday. The first cabinet meeting may also be held the same day. Portfolios have not yet been announced.
The Brigade Parade Grounds, once associated with the Left and later used by the Trinamool Congress for major political rallies, became the venue for the BJP’s government formation in Bengal. The BJP has projected the victory as the beginning of a “Sonar Bangla” under a “double-engine government”.
Thousands of BJP workers arrived at the venue from early morning wearing saffron scarves and carrying lotus flags. Giant LED screens played speeches by Modi and Adhikari. Chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” were heard across the Maidan area as the prime minister arrived.
The BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule in the state.
The party expanded its presence in Bengal over the past few years through grassroots outreach, political polarisation, organisational expansion and defections from rival parties.
The first set of ministers reflected the BJP’s attempt to reward social and electoral groups that backed the party in the elections.
Ghosh returned to the assembly from Kharagpur Sadar, a seat he first won in 2016. He later became an MP in 2019 before losing the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Bardhaman-Durgapur after a constituency shift.
Agnimitra Paul joined the BJP after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and later became president of the party’s women’s wing in Bengal. She retained the Asansol-Dakshin seat, which she first won in 2021.
Ashok Kirtania retained Bangaon Uttar, strengthening the BJP’s position in the Matua belt bordering Bangladesh.
Kshudiram Tudu, a school teacher, emerged as a tribal leader from the Junglemahal region after winning Ranibandh following earlier electoral defeats.
Nisith Pramanik, who became an MP from Cooch Behar in 2019 and later served as Union minister of state in the home ministry, returned to state politics after winning the Mathabhanga assembly seat.
For the BJP, Saturday’s swearing-in marked the completion of its long political campaign to form a government in Bengal and replace decades of regional and Left dominance with saffron rule from Brigade itself.
