Suvendu takes charge of Bengal: ‘I am everyone’s Chief Minister’
Five others sworn in as ministers; TMC wishes them success; PM bows to people of Bengal
PM Narendra Modi on the dais as West Bengal Governor R N Ravi administers the oath of office to CM Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata. (Photo: Partha Paul) Five days after the BJP scripted history with a landslide victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, Suvendu Adhikari, who led the party’s ground offensive that ended 15 years of TMC rule, was sworn in Saturday as the state’s first BJP Chief Minister.
The oath-taking ceremony, the first by a Chief Minister at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade Ground, was attended among others by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and all NDA and BJP CMs including N Chandrababu Naidu, Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Devendra Fadnavis.
Apart from Adhikari, five ministers – Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Nisith Pramanik, Ashok Kirtania, and Kshudiram Tudu – were also administered the oath of office by Governor R N Ravi. Pramanik belongs to the Rajbanshi community, Kirtania is a Matua, and Tudu is from the Adivasi community.
Modi arrived at the venue of the swearing-in ceremony in an open car flanked by Adhikari, wearing a saffron ‘fatua’ (kurta shirt), and BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya.
About 100 metres from the stage, Modi stepped out of the car and walked towards the dais. Once on the stage, he bowed down with folded hands to thank the people of Bengal.
He greeted Makhanlal Sarkar, 97, who had accompanied Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his last mission to Kashmir, opposing the now-shelved special status of the erstwhile state of J&K.
Soon after taking over as the new CM, Adhikari went to Jorasanko Thakurbari, the birthplace of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. “Without Rabindranath Tagore, you can’t think about Bengali culture. We have started a new era by paying tribute to Tagore on his birth anniversary,” he said.
And days after he ratcheted up the rhetoric following his wins in Bhabanipur (where he defeated TMC leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) and Nandigram when he claimed Muslims had voted for the TMC and the Hindus for him, Adhikari said, “Ami mukhyomantri, ami ekhon sokoler (I am the Chief Minister, I now belong to everyone).”
He later proceeded to the PWD Maidan tent. Sources said he met Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala, Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh and the police top brass. A major reshuffle of IAS and IPS officers in the state could take place soon, sources said.
Meanwhile, the TMC, in a statement, said, “We congratulate the leaders and wish them success in working with commitment for the interest of the people of Bengal.” It said the party had unanimously decided that Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay would be the Leader of Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayna Bandyopadhyay the Deputy Leaders of Opposition. The TMC Chief Whip would be Firhad Hakim.
Adhikari’s parents could not attend the swearing-in ceremony as they were unwell. His father Sisir Adhikari said, “He is the second of my four sons. From childhood, he has shown leadership qualities, and he is Chief Minister material. He is very cool and a very good organiser as well.”
Mother Gayatri Devi said, “He is always very calm. I never scolded him, he was never naughty… Suvendu loves fried fish, especially Hilsa.”
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