West Bengal Cabinet expansion: BJP hints at surprises; Swapan Dasgupta, Rudranil Ghosh in the mix
Suvendu Adhikari says 35 more ministers will be inducted into the Council of Ministers at 11 am on Monday; women and backward communities a priority.
Actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh and former journalist Swapan Dasgupta are running for Cabinet positions. (X/@ActorRudranil; File Photo) Three weeks after Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as Chief Minister along with five Cabinet ministers, the BJP government in West Bengal is set to expand its Council of Ministers on Monday.
“Tomorrow, a full-fledged Council of Ministers of the elected nationalist government will be formed by the verdict of the people of West Bengal. For the purpose of expanding the Council of Ministers, 35 ministers of the West Bengal government will take their oaths at Nabanna at 11 am. His Excellency the Governor Shri R N Ravi will administer their oaths at Nabanna,” Adhikari posted on X in Bangla on Sunday. Nabanna is the name of the state secretariat.
While the government has yet to announce the list of additional ministers, Adhikari can induct a maximum of 38 more ministers. The 91st Constitutional Amendment caps the size of the Council of Ministers to 15% of the strength of the Assembly. For West Bengal, which has 294 MLAs in the Assembly, the figure is 44.
With the five Cabinet ministers already sworn in representing women (Agnimitra Paul), Matuas (Ashok Kirtania), Rajbangshis (Nisith Pramanik), and tribals (Kshudiram Tudu), party leaders said the expanded Council of Ministers will see representation from other communities.
“In this new list, women and backward communities will remain a priority for the BJP. North Bengal is also another priority,” a BJP leader said.
With Nisith Pramanik, an MLA from Mathabhanga in North Bengal, being made a Cabinet Minister and Coochbehar-Dakshin MLA Rathindra Bose the Assembly Speaker, sources said two more MLAs from the region — Dipak Burman and Shankar Ghosh — might also be included. Similarly, two or more women faces, including a woman actor, may get included in the extended Cabinet, said a party leader, adding that actor-turned-politician Rudranil Ghosh was also in the race.
Two journalist-turned-politicians, Swapan Dasgupta and Jagannath Chattopadhyay, might also get important berths in the Cabinet. Dasgupta, a former Rajya Sabha MP, may be in the running for Minister for Higher Education.
“In our party, no decision is taken single-handedly. The central leadership will take the final call. In this case, too, the central leadership made the final decision on who would be the Cabinet ministers and which department each would get. We can only say that there are some surprises. For that, everybody will have to wait till Monday,” said a party leader.
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