Suvendu Adhkari sworn in as West Bengal chief minister

Suvendu Adhikari today was sworn in as the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief minister of West Bengal at a grand ceremony after he spearheaded the party to a landslide victory against Trinamool Congress (TMC) in recent assembly elections, marking a historic political shift in the state.

Adhikari, 55, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Bengal Governor T N Ravi at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, coinciding with Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary. Along with him, Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, a Matua, Khudiram Tudu, Santali, and Nitish Pramanik also swore their oaths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of several states ruled by BJP and its allies attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Ahead of the oath-taking, Modi on Saturday paid rich tributes to Tagore on his birth anniversary and said he made a mark as an exceptional philosopher, educationist, artist and a "timeless voice of India's civilisational soul".

Suvendu too paid tribute to Tagore, describing the Nobel laureate as an "eternal star" in the sky of Bengali literature and culture.

In a post on X, he said Tagore's "immortal creations, humanitarian philosophy, and patriotism" have guided people through the ages.

"May human civilisation advance, inspired by the great message, 'Where the mind is without fear, and the head held high'. On the poet-sage's birth anniversary, I pay my humble tribute to him," Adhikari said.

In the recently concluded state polls, BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, reducing TMC to just 80.

Adhikari's elevation to the chief ministership has been powered by his high-profile electoral wins against Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram in 2021 and Bhabanipur in 2026.

Once a key TMC strategist, Adhikari joined BJP in 2020 and quickly emerged as its most prominent face in Bengal. His combination of organisational reach, insider knowledge of TMC and aggressive campaign style positioned him as the BJP's natural choice for the top post.

Adhikari took oath as the ninth chief minister of Bengal and the first in 55 years to helm the state government while coming from the hinterland.

The last time Bengal had a chief minister from its rural backyards and not from its capital Kolkata was in 1971, when Ajoy Mukherjee, representing the Indian National Congress (Requisitionists), a breakaway faction led by Indira Gandhi after Congress split in 1969, took charge for his third stint as the state's chief minister.

Mukherjee hailed from the undivided Medinipur district, where Adhikari owes his roots.