Kolkata, May 9 (IANS): Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal on Saturday, making history as the leader of the state’s first-ever BJP-ruled government, with five other ministers also taking oath alongside him as part of the new state Council of Ministers. The five ministers sworn in are former BJP national vice-president and former state president Dilip Ghosh, fashion-designer-turned-politician and two-time BJP legislator Agnimitra Paul, former Union Minister of State for Home and ex-Lok Sabha member Nisith Pramanik, Ashok Kirtania, and Khudiram Tudu. Political observers have noted that the selection of the first six ministers reflects a deliberate and carefully balanced caste representation – with Adhikari being a Brahmin, Ghosh representing the OBC community, Paul from a Kayastha background, Pramanik representing the Rajbanshi community of North Bengal, Kirtania representing the Matua community, and Tudu representing the tribal community. The move is widely seen as a subtle but clear signal from the BJP that the new government intends to govern with equality and without bias toward any particular community.
The oath-taking ceremony marks the culmination of a historic BJP electoral sweep in West Bengal, where the party dominated Assembly constituencies with significant Matua, tribal, and Rajbanshi voter populations, virtually wiping out the Trinamool Congress in several regions, particularly in North Bengal. Adhikari’s elevation to Chief Minister also fulfils the criteria repeatedly outlined by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during election campaigns, where Shah had consistently described the future BJP Chief Minister of Bengal as a “son of the soil, a Bengali, and one who had pursued his academic career in Bengali medium” – a description that fits Adhikari precisely. The portfolios of the five newly sworn-in ministers had not been announced at the time of reporting. Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress, now reduced to the principal opposition party in the House, is yet to announce a Leader of the Opposition – a position previously held by Adhikari himself from 2021 to 2026.