Suvendu Adhikari sworn in as West Bengal's first BJP Chief Minister; five ministers take oath
Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday, 9 May was sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, becoming the first leader of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the state's history. Five other members of the state's Council of Ministers were also administered the oath of office at the same ceremony in Kolkata.
Who Was Sworn In
The six ministers who took oath on Saturday were Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Khudiram Tudu, and Nisith Pramanik. Ghosh was the second to be administered the oath after Adhikari, followed by Paul, Kirtania, Tudu, and Pramanik in that order. The portfolios of the five cabinet colleagues had not been announced at the time of the ceremony.
A Carefully Calibrated Cabinet
Dilip Ghosh, a former national vice-president and former state president of the BJP in West Bengal, represents the Other Backward Class (OBC) community. Agnimitra Paul, a fashion-designer-turned-politician and two-time BJP legislator, hails from a Kayastha background. Nisith Pramanik, a former Lok Sabha member and former Union Minister of State for Home, represents the Rajbanshi community — a predominant community in North Bengal, where the BJP had a dominant showing in the recently concluded Assembly elections. Ashok Kirtania represents the Matua community and Khudiram Tudu the tribal community. Adhikari himself is a Brahmin. Political observers note that the selection of the first six ministers from distinct caste backgrounds signals the new government's intent to project inclusivity across West Bengal's diverse social fabric.
The 'Son of the Soil' Promise Fulfilled
In the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah repeatedly declined to name a Chief Ministerial candidate, instead describing the future BJP Chief Minister as a
