Bengal First session of 18th assembly on May 15 Speaker election on opening day

PTI, May 12, 2026, Kolkata : The first session of the 18th West Bengal Assembly will commence on May 15, with the election for the Speaker’s post scheduled to take place on the opening day, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The duration of the session has not yet been decided, the Assembly official said.

Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader Tapas Roy was sworn in as the pro tem Speaker of the Assembly, formally setting in motion the proceedings of the newly constituted House following the BJP’s victory in the recent state polls.

Speaking to reporters after taking oath, Roy said the election for the Speaker’s post would be held on May 15.

He also said the oath-taking of the newly elected MLAs would be conducted on Wednesday and Thursday.

Although the Assembly has a strength of 294 seats, oath-taking will be held for 290 legislators over the next two days.

Polling in the Falta Assembly constituency was countermanded following allegations of electoral malpractices, and fresh voting there will be held on May 21.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and AJUP founder Humayun Kabir won from two Assembly seats each, necessitating bypolls after they vacate one constituency apiece.

Roy has already been administered the oath as a member of the House.

According to the schedule released by the Assembly secretariat, Suvendu Adhikari and other ministers will take oath as MLAs during the first half of Wednesday. Newly elected legislators from north Bengal districts and Murshidabad will also take oath during that session.

During the second half of Wednesday, MLAs elected from Nadia, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts will be sworn in.

On Thursday, legislators from Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Purba Medinipur and Jhargram districts will take oath during the first half, while MLAs from Paschim Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman and Birbhum districts will take oath in the second half.