Suvendu Adhikari takes oath as West Bengal’s first BJP Chief Minister; PM Modi, Amit Shah, top leaders attend

KOLKATA: The West Bengal BJP’s legislature party leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday took oath as the state’s first BJP Chief Minister, marking a significant political development in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan, along with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami, attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Kolkata | BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal since independence pic.twitter.com/ZoMOINT6RX

— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2026

BJP leaders on Friday extended their wishes to Adhikari after he was named the Leader of the BJP Legislature Party in West Bengal and is poised to take the oath as the next Chief Minister of the State, following the party’s victory in the 2026 Assembly elections.

On May 4, Suvendu 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.

#WATCH Kolkata | BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari greets PM Narendra Modi and other senior leaders of the NDA after taking oath as the Chief Minister of West Bengal pic.twitter.com/xjgOgTh6U9

— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2026

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.

The 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)