Suvendu Adhikari sworn in as Bengal's first BJP CM at Brigade Parade Ground
Suvendu Adhikari is set to be sworn in as West Bengal's first-ever Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister at a ceremony at Brigade Parade Ground, Kolkata, on 9 May, marking a historic political shift in a state long dominated by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Leaders from across the country — including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, 20 Chief Ministers, and multiple Union Cabinet Ministers — converged on Kolkata for the landmark event.
A Historic First for Bengal
The swearing-in ceremony at Brigade Parade Ground represents the culmination of the BJP's decades-long effort to break TMC's grip on West Bengal. Adhikari, a seasoned political figure who first earned the 'giant-killer' tag in the 2021 Assembly elections by defeating then-Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram, has now cemented his position as the unanimous choice to lead the party's first government in the state.
In the latest elections, Adhikari secured victory from both his native Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district and the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, defeating Banerjee at Bhabanipur by a margin of over 15,000 votes.
Who Attended the Ceremony
The swearing-in drew an unprecedented gathering of NDA leadership. Among those present were Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union MoS Jayant Chaudhary, and BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
Fadnavis, upon arriving in Kolkata, said,
