SUVENDU Adhikari on Saturday took oath as West Bengal’s first BJP Chief Minister, ushering in the State’s maiden BJP Government since Independence and marking a tectonic political shift in a region long regarded as the party’s toughest ideological frontier. The swearing-in at the iconic Brigade Parade Grounds -- once the citadel of the Left and later a theatre of TMC dominance-- symbolically sealed the BJP’s stunning ascent in Bengal politics, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled States and the party’s top leadership sharing the stage before a sea of saffron flags and chants of “Jai Shri Ram”. Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Adhikari amid drumbeats, loud cheers and fluttering saffron flags across the sprawling ground in the heart of Kolkata. As Modi walked onto the stage, he bent low, touched his forehead to the dais with folded hands and acknowledged the crowd, triggering thunderous applause from lakhs of BJP supporters packed into Brigade. Dressed in a saffron kurta, white dhoti with a thin red border and a prominent tilak on his forehead, Adhikari took the oath first before greeting the gathering with folded hands. The BJP leader won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur and spearheaded the party’s aggressive campaign against the TMC.

 

Senior BJP leader and former State president Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik were also sworn-in as Ministers in the six-member Cabinet that reflected a social-and-regional balance. While Adhikari is a Brahmin face, Ghosh represents the OBC community, Kirtania the politically crucial Matua belt, Tudu the tribal Junglemahal region and Pramanik the Rajbanshi population of north Bengal. Two Ministers are from north Bengal and three from the south, underlining the BJP’s effort to consolidate its support across regions and communities. Notably, there was no representative from Kolkata in the first list of Ministers, despite the city historically producing some of Bengal’s tallest political leaders and Chief Ministers. Sources said more Ministers are likely to be sworn-in at Raj Bhavan on Monday, when the first Cabinet meeting may also take place. The BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the TMC’s 15-year rule and scripting its biggest electoral success in eastern India. Soon after taking the oath, Adhikari drove to Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore, and paid floral tributes to the Nobel laureate before formally beginning work as Chief Minister. “My official work begins after paying tribute to Kaviguru,” he said. Invoking Swami Vivekananda, Adhikari said Bengal needed rebuilding after years of decline in education and culture. “This is not the time for criticism... I am everyone’s Chief Minister,” he said. Later, he also visited the ancestral residence of Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee and paid floral tributes. Referring to Modi, Adhikari said the Prime Minister had long wished to see a BJP Government in Bengal and described Saturday as the beginning of a new chapter in the State’s politics. For the BJP, Saturday was not merely the formal assumption of power, but the rewriting of Bengal’s political folklore from the very ground where its opponents once drew their greatest strength.