West Bengal witnessed a historic political transition on Saturday, 9 May, as the state's first-ever Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was sworn in at Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata at 10 am IST. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari led the new Cabinet's oath ceremony, marking the end of decades of non-BJP rule in the state.

A Deliberate Date: Rabindra Jayanti as a Political Statement

The BJP's choice of 9 May was no coincidence. The date coincides with the birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore as per the Bengali calendar. Samik Bhattacharya, BJP's West Bengal unit president and Rajya Sabha MP, described the date selection as a direct counter to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s pre-election campaign that portrayed the BJP as an anti-Bengali force that would endanger Bengali culture.

Who Administered the Oath and Who Attended

Governor Ravi administered the oath to the new Cabinet at Brigade Parade Ground. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers from other BJP-ruled states, several Union Cabinet members, and senior central BJP leaders — underscoring the national importance the party attaches to its maiden Bengal victory.

Writers' Buildings Restored as State Secretariat

After the swearing-in, Chief Minister Adhikari and his Cabinet took charge at the historic Writers' Buildings in central Kolkata, bypassing Nabanna at Mandirtala in Howrah district — the secretariat used by the previous TMC government under Mamata Banerjee. Nabanna had been conceived during the Left Front regime as a garments hub, but Banerjee shifted the secretariat there in 2013, reportedly on the advice of her personal astrologer. The building formally began functioning as the state secretariat on 5 October 2013. The BJP's return to Writers' Buildings restores the seat of power to where every West Bengal Chief Minister from late Prafulla Chandra Ghosh to late Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had governed.

Adhikari's Collective Leadership Pledge

Adhikari has drawn a clear distinction from his predecessor's governing style, pledging a model of collective decision-making. "It will not be 'I' who will govern the state. It will be 'we' who will be governing the state. At the same time, the state will be governed through smooth Centre-state relationship and coordination," Adhikari said. He has signalled that unlike Banerjee, he will not centralise administrative decisions.

TMC's Parallel Celebration

The TMC chose not to engage with the swearing-in. Instead, the party announced it would celebrate Rabindra Jayanti at Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat, South Kolkata — a symbolic assertion that the occasion belongs to Bengal's cultural identity rather than BJP politics. The parallel events highlight how sharply the two parties are contesting the narrative around Bengali identity as the new government begins its tenure.