Kamal Ghorui
KOLKATA: BJP began its first stint in office in Bengal on Saturday with Suvendu Adhikari being sworn in as the state’s first saffron chief minister along with five cabinet ministers, as PM Narendra Modi joined a lakh-plus crowd at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata to witness a former Left and then centrist bastion take a sharp turn towards right.BJP and RSS veteran Dilip Ghosh, designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul, former junior Union minister Nisith Pramanik, another RSS old-timer Khudiram Tudu and Matua face Ashok Kirtaniya were the other five ministers to take oath.The new cabinet will hold its first meeting Monday. A cabinet expansion is likely next week.The pick of ministers displayed a careful balance between regions – a nod towards women (a bloc without whose support BJP would have found it difficult to defeat Trinamool) and an acknowledgement of RSS’s solid organisational support to BJP (another key factor in party’s landslide win).
Bow to West Bengal’s Jana Shakti, says PM
Modi arrived at Maidan in an open vehicle alongside Adhikari and state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya as chants of “Modi, Modi” rolled across Brigade. After the oath ceremony, a visibly emotional PM knelt before the crowd and touched his forehead to the ground.“I bow to West Bengal’s Jana Shakti! The people’s blessings are the truest strength of democracy and the noblest source of public resolve,” Modi later posted on X.He posted a second message congratulating the new CM. “Congratulations to Shri Suvendu Adhikari Ji on taking oath as West Bengal’s chief minister. He has made a mark as a leader who has remained deeply connected to the people and understood their aspirations from close quarters. My best wishes to him for a fruitful tenure ahead,” he wrote. Adhikari shared the post, and said in his response, “Your blessings and guidance will illuminate my path and inspire me to contribute towards Viksit Bharat by creating a Viksit Bengal.“The ceremony, timed with Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary, blended symbolism and power projection. Modi removed his shoes before garlanding Tagore’s portrait and later touched the feet of 97-year-old Jana Sangh veteran Makhan Lal Sarkar, an aide of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, whose ideological legacy shaped BJP’s rise.The gesture was immensely symbolic of a BJP CM reaching the state’s highest office more than seven decades after its ideological forerunner – Bharatiya Jana Sangh – started its journey from Bengal under Mookerjee’s leadership.Present on the 100×60 feet dais to witness the historic event were Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, party national president Nitin Nabin, his predecessor JP Nadda, transport minister Nitin Gadkari, 21 CMs of NDA-governed states and their deputies, besides former ministers like Smriti Irani and veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty.The proceedings began at 11.30pm as governor Ravi issued Adhikari’s “order of appointment” as the new CM of Bengal. Adhikari, clad in a saffron kurta and white dhoti, took oath in Bengali. After the oath, he bowed before PM Modi and Shah and greeted the dignitaries. UP CM Yogi Adityanath took off his saffron scarf and wrapped it around Adhikari’s shoulders, drawing a rousing cheer from the crowd.Following the ceremony, Adhikari went to Jorasanko Thakurbari to pay his homage to Rabindranath Tagore on his 166th birth anniversary. Later he reached the PWD tent at Maidan where he discussed the state’s law and order with the DGP and Kolkata police commissioner over a 45-minute luncheon.In the evening, Adhikari visited Mookerjee’s residence in Bhowanipore, the Bharat Sevashram Sangha headquarters in Ballygunge as well as Kalighat temple.
