West Bengal’s Bharatiya Janata Party prepared to form its first government in the state, with Suvendu Adhikari widely expected to take oath as chief minister within days of the party’s landmark assembly election victory.
The BJP scheduled a legislative party meeting for May 7 to confirm leadership ahead of a May 9 swearing-in ceremony at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground. Adhikari, who defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram in 2021 and served previously in the TMC before switching parties, emerged as the front-runner after the BJP won 207 seats.
Outgoing Chief Minister Banerjee refused to resign before the assembly term expired on May 7, alleging electoral fraud and threatening legal challenges in the Supreme Court. Governor RN Ravi dissolved the previous house, initiating the formal transition to BJP rule.
The handover marks a historic shift in eastern Indian politics after decades of Left Front and Trinamool Congress governance in a state of roughly 100 million residents. BJP leaders said their priority would be restoring law and order and accelerating industrial investment.
Adhikari defected from the Trinamool Congress to the BJP in 2020 and has since become the party’s most prominent face in the state. BJP national leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah attended campaign rallies in the final weeks before the party’s historic victory on May 4.
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Sources:
https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/narendra-modi/