Kolkata, May 9: West Bengal is set to witness a historic political transition on Saturday as the state’s first-ever BJP government assumes office with the swearing-in ceremony of the new Cabinet led by Chief Minister-designate Suvendu Adhikari at 10 a.m.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has deliberately chosen the day for the oath-taking ceremony as it coincides with Rabindra Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore according to the Bengali calendar. The BJP leadership said the decision was aimed at countering the Trinamool Congress’ campaign portraying the party as “anti-Bengali” and indifferent to Bengal’s cultural heritage.
State BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said the occasion symbolises the party’s commitment to Bengal’s language, culture and traditions.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata and will be administered by Governor C. V. Ananda Bose. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, chief ministers from BJP-ruled states, Union ministers and senior BJP leaders are expected to attend the event.
In a major administrative shift, the new government has decided to move the state secretariat back to the historic Writers’ Building after the oath ceremony. The previous Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee had shifted the secretariat to Nabanna in 2013.
Adhikari has indicated that his administration will function on the principle of “collective leadership” rather than centralised decision-making. “It will not be ‘I’ who will govern the state. It will be ‘we’ who will govern the state,” he said, adding that the government would maintain close coordination with the Centre.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress announced separate Rabindra Jayanti celebrations at Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat.
