Historic change in West Bengal: Suvendu Adhikari becomes BJP’s first Chief Minister

This day has been recorded in golden letters in the history of West Bengal. Suvendu Adhikari, once considered Mamata Banerjee’s ‘right hand man’, took oath as the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal on Saturday (May 09). Kolkata’s historic Brigade Parade Ground witnessed this grand show of strength, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the entire cabinet of the Central Government were present.

‘Cultural’ oath on Rabindra Jayanti

The BJP chose May 9 as the date for the swearing-in, which is celebrated as the birth anniversary (Rabindra Jayanti) of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. This was a befitting reply to the Trinamool Congress’s ‘outsider’ and ‘North Indian party’ narrative alleging that the BJP does not respect the culture of Bengal. Subhendu Adhikari further strengthened the local identity by taking oath entirely in Bengali language.

During the swearing in, Subhendu Adhikari was seen in a simple saffron kurta. This simplicity of hers is being seen as BJP’s new ‘man of the soil’ identity in comparison to Mamata Banerjee’s image of white saree and rubber slippers.

A very emotional moment came at the beginning of the program when Prime Minister Modi touched the feet of 98-year-old Makhanlal Sarkar, took blessings and hugged him. Makhanlal Sarkar is the oldest BJP worker in Bengal, who participated in the Kashmir movement along with Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1952 and was jailed.

Along with Shubhendu Adhikari, many senior BJP leaders also took oath as ministers. North Bengal and tribal areas have been given special attention in the new government.

Former state president of West Bengal BJP and senior leader Dilip Ghosh, flamboyant BJP leader Agnimitra Paul, prominent face of North Bengal and former Union Minister Nisith Pramanik, MLA from Ranibandh and representative of tribal community Kshudiram Tudu and Ashok Kirtania and Shankar Ghosh, considered strong pillars of the West Bengal BJP organization, took oath.

Taste of ‘Jhalmuri’ and ‘Mishti’ in Brigade Ground

To pay respect to the culture of Bengal, 20 stalls of sweets Mishti Doi and Bengal’s famous snack ‘Jhalmuri’ were set up at the venue. It may be noted that during a rally in Jhargram in April, PM Modi had suddenly stopped and enjoyed Jhalmuri, which had made a lot of headlines.

This victory of BJP at the birthplace of Jan Sangh founder Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee is being considered as the biggest ideological achievement for the party. The presence of Chief Ministers of all BJP ruled states at the swearing-in ceremony made it clear how important this victory of Bengal is for the Centre.

This afternoon of May 9, 2026 will be remembered as the end of 15 years of TMC rule and the formal beginning of a new chapter in West Bengal politics.