Suvendu Adhikari Sworn In as West Bengal's First BJP CM

Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as West Bengal's first Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister on May 9, 2026, at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground, ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule after the BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member state assembly.

Governor RN Ravi administered the oaths to Adhikari and five ministers: Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik. The ceremony, held on Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary, drew large crowds and senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Adhikari and Modi paid tributes to the poet and a veteran BJP associate.

Following the swearing-in, Adhikari met top officials including Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala, Director General of Police Siddh Nath Gupta and Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand to review law and order. He directed continuity for ongoing projects and public schemes from the previous administration. Security inspections were conducted at Nabanna, the state administrative headquarters in Howrah, ahead of Adhikari's first cabinet meeting there on May 11.

At the meeting, the cabinet allocated portfolios...