Kolkata, May 9: A new political chapter began in West Bengal on Saturday as Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the Chief Minister of the state’s first-ever BJP government. Along with him, five other leaders were sworn in as members of the Council of Ministers at a grand ceremony in Kolkata attended by top BJP leaders and dignitaries.
The ministers inducted into the Cabinet include former BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul, former Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik, Ashok Kirtania and Khudiram Tudu. Ghosh was the second to take oath after Adhikari, followed by Paul, Kirtania, Tudu and Pramanik.
The portfolios of the ministers were yet to be announced at the time of filing the report. However, political observers noted that the composition of the first BJP Cabinet reflects a deliberate social balance aimed at representing different communities across the state.
Kirtania is seen as a representative of the influential Matua community, while Tudu represents the tribal population. The BJP had registered sweeping victories in Assembly constituencies dominated by Matua and tribal voters in the recently concluded elections. Ghosh belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, while Paul comes from a Kayastha background. Pramanik represents the Rajbanshi community of North Bengal, a region where the BJP made major electoral gains.
Adhikari himself belongs to a Bengali Brahmin family. Analysts believe the Cabinet’s caste and community diversity is intended to send a message of inclusive governance under the new BJP administration.
Before the elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly hinted that Bengal’s first BJP Chief Minister would be a “son of the soil” educated in the Bengali medium, a description that closely matched Adhikari.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress, now the principal Opposition party in the Assembly, is yet to announce its Leader of the Opposition, a post held by Adhikari between 2021 and 2026.
