Suvendu Adhikari took the oath of office as West Bengal's first BJP chief minister during a ceremony on Saturday [1].
The event marks a historic political shift in the state, as the BJP has never previously held the chief minister's office since Independence [2].
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata [3]. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior party leaders attended the event following the BJP's decisive victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections [1].
During the proceedings, Prime Minister Modi performed a sashtang pranam to signal the start of a new era in the region. "I bow to West Bengal’s Jana Shakti," Modi said [4].
Adhikari was not the only official to take an oath on Saturday. The ceremony included the appointment of several other ministers, including Dilip Ghosh, and Agnimitra Paul [5]. The transition follows the resignation of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her TMC government [6].
This victory allows the BJP to implement its platform in a state that has long been a stronghold for other political factions. The scale of the event at the Brigade Parade Ground served as a public demonstration of the party's new mandate [3].
“Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as West Bengal's first BJP chief minister.”
The appointment of Suvendu Adhikari represents the culmination of the BJP's long-term strategy to penetrate West Bengal, a state historically resistant to the party's influence. By securing a decisive win in the 2026 elections, the party has broken a decades-long barrier, potentially altering the electoral map of eastern India and aligning the state government with the central administration's policies.
