Ashok Kirtania takes oath as minister in Bengal, and gets a warm hug from PM Modi

AS Suvendu Adhikari took swearing as Bengal's number one BJP chief government minister on sabbatum, several leaders of the company also took oath as ministers on Saturday morning at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. Among them were some prominent leaders of the party such as Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik. Track updates on Bengal govt oath ceremonyKirtania shared a heartfelt moment on stage after taking oath as when he went to meet Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister gave a warm hug to him. In the recently concluded Bengal elections, that ended in BJP's historic win and TMC's ouster from power after 15 years, Kirtania retained Bangaon Uttar seat, strengthening the saffron party's presence in the politically crucial Matua belt bordering Bangladesh.Ashok Kirtania's rise in Bengal politicsKirtania defeated the TMC's Biswajit Das by a margin of 40,670 in the assembly elections for which results were declared on May 4. The BJP leader has been able to firm his feet in the key constituency as he widened the poll margin in this year's polls by over 30,000 votes. In 2021, he had defeated TMC's Shyamal Roy by 10,488 votes. Kirtani has risen from local organisational politics and has a background in business.In the wake of the SIR deletions, where perceptions of disenfranchisement angst among the migrant Hindu Namashudra refugee community were palpable, Kirtania's achievement had put anti-BJP sentiment speculations to rest.Bengal govt oath ceremonyAs chief minister Suvendu Adhikari took oath along with five ministers on Saturday, representatives from the northern and southern regions of the state were inducted into the cabinet, but none from Kolkata. Reflecting West Bengal's diverse ethnic fabric, the cabinet represented communities, including the Matuas and the Santhals.Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu, Nisith Pramanik took oath in the ceremony that had top NDA leaders, including PM Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, in attendance. West Bengal recorded the highest-ever voter turnout since independence with an impressive 91.66% polling in Phase II of the Assembly elections. In phase I, the poll participation was 93.19%, taking the combined poll percentage to 92.47%.The 2026 West Bengal Assembly election results have led to a dramatic political shift, ending Mamata Banerjee's long dominance and bringing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power with a commanding 206 seats. This marks a major blow to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which secured only 80 seats - a steep decline.