Kolkata: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday took oath as the first Chief Minister from the BJP in West Bengal, marking a major political shift in the state after the party’s sweeping victory in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office to Adhikari during a grand ceremony held at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. Several senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President Nitin Nabin, Union ministers, and chief ministers from NDA-ruled states, attended the event.
The BJP managed to get 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule in the state. The TMC was reduced to 80 seats in the election.
Adhikari emerged as the face of the BJP’s campaign in Bengal after defeating TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, considered one of the party’s strongest bastions. The BJP legislature party formally elected him as its leader on Friday, following which he met the governor and staked a claim to form the government.
The swearing-in ceremony coincided with the birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, according to reports.
Along with Adhikari, newly-elected BJP MLAs Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, and Ashok Kirtaniya were sworn in as cabinet ministers.
Before assuming office, Adhikari described the occasion as a historic moment for the state and said the BJP government would work towards development and stability in West Bengal. In a message welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Kolkata, he said the mandate reflected people’s desire for political change and a new phase of governance.
Adhikari began his political career with the Congress in the mid-1990s before joining the Trinamool Congress shortly after its formation. He later became a prominent figure during the Singur and Nandigram movements and was regarded as one of the influential organisers in Bengal politics. In 2020, he switched to the BJP, a move widely seen as a turning point in the state’s political landscape.
He also belongs to a politically influential family in West Bengal. His father, Sisir Adhikari, served both in Parliament and the state Assembly, while his brother Dibyendu Adhikari joined the BJP in 2024 after leaving the Trinamool Congress.
