Kolkata, May 8: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday officially announced Suvendu Adhikari as the next Chief Minister of West Bengal, paving the way for the formation of the state’s first-ever Bharatiya Janata Party-led government since Independence.
The decision was taken during a meeting of newly elected BJP legislators held after the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, the results of which were declared on May 4. The meeting was chaired by Amit Shah, who formally declared Adhikari as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in the West Bengal Assembly.
Addressing the legislators, Shah said the process of electing the legislative party leader was completed unanimously. According to him, eight separate proposals were submitted during the meeting, and all proposed only one name — Suvendu Adhikari.
“Enough time was given for any second proposal, but no other name was suggested. Therefore, Suvendu Adhikari was unanimously chosen as the leader of the BJP legislative party and will be the next Chief Minister of West Bengal,” Shah said.
The Union Home Minister also announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government would be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. Governor R. N. Ravi will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the new Chief Minister and members of the cabinet.
Following the announcement, Adhikari is expected to meet the Governor at Lok Bhavan to formally stake claim to form the government.
This election marked another major political milestone for Adhikari, who secured victories from both the Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district and the Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata. In Bhabanipur, he defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by a margin of more than 15,000 votes.
Adhikari had earlier earned the reputation of a “giant-killer” after defeating Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram during the 2021 Assembly elections. With his latest victory and unanimous selection as BJP legislative leader, he is now set to lead the BJP’s historic first government in West Bengal.
