New era for West Bengal begins! Suvendu Adhikari becomes first BJP chief minister since independence

Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the first-ever BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal on Saturday in a historic change in the political landscape of the state.

Governor R.N. Ravi administered the oath of office to Adhikari and five other newly elected MLAs who will be part of the Council of Ministers - Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik.

The ceremony had a large political turnout with Prime Minister Modi and senior NDA leadership, including Union Ministers and Chief Ministers from BJP-ruled states in attendance.

Adhikari, 57, had a stellar electoral run in the just concluded Assembly elections fighting and winning from two constituencies - Nandigram and Bhabanipur. His most closely watched victory was in Bhabanipur, where he defeated outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by more than 15,000 votes.

The change of power, however, has been far from peaceful. Post-poll violence has erupted in several parts of Bengal since the results were declared on May 4. Things turned grimmer on May 6 when Adhikari’s personal assistant was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Madhyamgram area of North 24 Parganas - a grim reminder of the tensions simmering beneath the political victory.