PM Modi bows on stage to greet public at Bengal govt swearing-in ceremony

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the public by bowing down on stage before the gathering as a gesture of respect at the swearing-in ceremony of the new West Bengal government in Kolkata on Saturday.

The ceremony marked the formal induction of the newly formed West Bengal government, as BJP’s legislature party leader Suvendu Adhikari today took oath as the state’s first BJP Chief Minister.

During the event, Prime Minister Modi felicitated and took blessings from senior BJP worker Makhanlal Sarkar. He also, along with Suvendu Adhikari, paid tribute to Nobel laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on his 165th birth anniversary.

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. pic.twitter.com/y5oAp7mbez

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 9, 2026

The ceremony was attended by Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, and Dharmendra Pradhan, along with several Chief Ministers, including Manik Saha, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rekha Gupta, and Pushkar Singh Dhami.

On May 4, Adhikari established a dominant position in two of West Bengal’s most-watched constituencies, Bhabanipur and Nandigram, winning them both.

Figures from the Election Commission of India (ECI) following the 20th and final round of counting in Bhabanipur show Adhikari winning against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by a substantial margin of 15,105 votes. Simultaneously, he also won the Nandigram assembly seat.

According to the data displayed on the ECI official website. Suvendu Adhikari secured 1,27,301 votes at the conclusion of the 19th and final round. Adhikari significantly widened his lead in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency on Monday night, surging ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

BJP has won 207 seats in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 80 seats after ruling the state for 15 years.

West Bengal recorded the highest-ever voter turnout since independence with an impressive 91.66 per cent polling in Phase-ll of the Assembly elections. In phase I, the poll participation was 93.19 per cent, taking the combined poll percentage to 92.47 per cent.

The 2026 West Bengal Assembly election results have led to a dramatic political shift, ending Mamata Banerjee’s long dominance and bringing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power with a commanding 206 seats. This marks a major blow to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which secured only 80 seats, a steep decline from its previous stronghold. (ANI)