Suvendu Adhikari sworn in as Bengal’s first BJP CM

SUvendu Adhikari took swearing as w Bengal chief government minister at the iconic Brigade exhibit strand in Kolkata on Saturday, capping the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) march from the margins of the state’s politics to its seat of power.Clad in a saffron kurta, Adhikari was sworn in as the state’s first BJP chief minister at a ceremony that doubled up as a show of the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) national strength.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, several other Union ministers and chief ministers from a number of NDA-ruled states attended the event, along with noted names from the Bengali entertainment industry.“The political party based on the ideals of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee doesn’t need any certification. I am the chief minister now, and I belong to everybody,” Adhikari said after the ceremony. He added: “Bengal has been damaged a lot. Education is lost, culture is destroyed... We will rebuild Bengal. There is a huge responsibility on our shoulders.”Modi congratulated Adhikari and wished him a fruitful tenure. “Congratulations to Suvendu Adhikari Ji on taking oath as West Bengal’s chief minister. He has made a mark as a leader who remained deeply connected to the people…,” he said on X.Along with the 51-year-old chief minister, five BJP leaders — Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik — were sworn in as ministers, reflecting representation from different caste and social groups in the cabinet. Adhikari said the portfolios will be assigned on Monday.To be sure, the council of ministers can be expanded during the government’s tenure, with the maximum size, including the CM, capped at 15% of the strength of the state assembly. In West Bengal, this number will come to 44. Late on Saturday, the governor’s office said that the swearing-in of the expanded council of ministers will take place at Lok Bhavan at 3pm on Sunday.“Congratulations to Dilip Ghosh Ji, Agnimitra Paul Ji, Ashok Kirtania Ji, Nisith Pramanik Ji and Kshudiram Tudu Ji on taking oath as Ministers ... These leaders have worked tirelessly at the grassroots and served the people,” Modi said in another post.The BJP swept to a historic triumph 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 bastion of Nandigram. He was named the leader of the BJP’s state legislative party on Friday.“Today is a great day for all those in this country who regard Mother India as sacred and live their lives in devotion to her. Because on the very land where Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the pioneer of our ideology, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, were born, the saffron flag has risen there today,” Shah said at an event in Karnataka’s Chitradurga later in the day.Located in the heart of Kolkata, the Brigade Parade Ground — once regarded as the ideological symbol of the Left dominance and later a stage for the Trinamool Congress’s shows of strength — on Saturday bore witness to the BJP’s accession to power in the state, hosting an oath-taking ceremony for the first time.Thousands of party workers, many draped in saffron scarves and carrying party flags, began assembling at the venue from early morning as giant LED screens played campaign speeches by Modi and Adhikari. As Modi walked onto the stage, he knelt facing the crowd and touched his forehead to the dais with folded hands, drawing loud cheers from BJP supporters packed into the historic venue. He also felicitated and sought blessings from 98-year-old Makhanlal Sarkar, a grassroots BJP worker.“I came all the way from Bankura. I didn’t want to miss this occasion. It is rare to see so many top BJP leaders from across on one stage,” Shirshendu Sekhar Dana, a BJP supporter, told local media.The BJP brass also paid tribute to party activists 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 makeshift memorial for the deceased party workers was set up near the stage, displaying the names of the “martyrs” and the districts they hailed from on a large board.Sharing a photograph of the memorial on X, Modi wrote, “…Even in the midst of celebrations at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata today… we remembered all those BJP karyakartas who laid down their lives in the service of an ideal greater than themselves.” Shah echoed the sentiment, saying the memory of the fallen party workers would continue to inspire BJP cadres as the party embarks on its first term in power in West Bengal.The swearing-in ceremony coincided with Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary. After the ceremony, Adhikari drove to Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral home of Tagore, and paid floral tributes.The function also drew a wide cross-section of political leaders and cultural figures. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, health minister JP Nadda and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, 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, attended the swearing-in ceremony.Actors Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jeet and Jisshu Sengupta, and renowned classical vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty were also among those in attendance.