Suvendu Adhikari sworn in as West Bengal Chief Minister; Mamata Banerjee calls for Opposition unity

PTI, May 09, 2026, Kolkata : It was a significant day for Suvendu Adhikari, who took oath as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal on Saturday.

His entry into the Brigade Parade Ground was alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi atop a saffron vehicle, both waving at crowds gathered at the venue.

Prime Minister Modi then got down from the vehicle and walked past people who interacted with him up close, reflecting the celebratory mood among supporters, commoners, businessmen and religious leaders.

The Prime Minister then went onto the stage, paid tribute to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s picture before bowing down on the ground to pay his respects to Bengal, which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed a government in for the first time since Independence.

After the saffron party had tried to win the 2021 Assembly elections but failed, the 2026 Assembly elections, in which the BJP secured 207 seats compared to 77 in 2021, marked a major political victory for the party.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, other Union ministers, and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states were also present on the stage.

The national anthem was played at the beginning and at the end of the event. In between, West Bengal Governor R.N. Ravi administered the oath to Adhikari and five Cabinet ministers. Agnimitra Paul, Dilip Ghosh, Nisith Pramanik, Kshudiram Tudu and Ashok Kirtania were inducted into the Cabinet.

People witnessing the event at the venue spoke about their expectations from the BJP government.

“The experience of being here is really good. People definitely voted for change, for better governance, more security for women, less corruption is what we are expecting,” one attendee said.

“The BJP government will run well and Suvendu Adhikari will address issues related to Bengal, which has been deprived,” another supporter said.

While this was the BJP’s moment, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, paid tribute to Tagore at her Kalighat residence, stating that her party was denied permission to hold a programme at three public venues.

Mamata marked the occasion of Rabindra Jayanti and the formation of the new government as the start of her “fight for ethics”.

“Our fight for ethics will begin today against atrocities. You all know what happened during voting,” Mamata Banerjee said.

She also spoke about the alleged hooliganism that she and other TMC supporters had faced after the party’s defeat, while also mentioning TMC MP Mahua Moitra’s alleged harassment on a flight a few days ago.

“Police is silent... When I won in 2011, I didn’t allow any atrocities. I had sent my own bulletproof car to former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and gave him Z+ security. And since they (BJP) have won, since that night, all our security was withdrawn,” Mamata added.

“We have won the fight, remember that. We have been made to be defeated, which will be proved in coming days. All leaders of India from Delhi have gotten in touch with me. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge ji (Mallikarjun Kharge), Uddhav Thackeray have sent a message, Tejashwi Yadav has sent a message, Akhilesh Yadav has visited me. Apart from them, Hemant Soren and others are there, including Arvind Kejriwal, who said he has not been so saddened as when he lost. You have been made to lose,” the former Chief Minister said, thanking them all.

The former Chief Minister of West Bengal also noted that she had the support of legal voices such as Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Prashant Bhushan and Menaka Guruswamy.

Banerjee appealed to all parties — including the Left Front and ultra-Left groups — to come forward and support the fight against the BJP.

“A platform for political parties against BJP, even if you say Leftists, I have no ego. I want to walk with everyone. It is such a situation that if we have to stop the BJP, (we need) Leftists, ultra-Leftists,” added the TMC supremo, who had not tendered her resignation to Governor Ravi as per protocol, as she believes her party won morally.

After the election results on May 4, she had also alleged that the BJP’s victory recognised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) was unethical in the wake of voter deletions under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and the heavy presence of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), which she claimed worked in favour of the BJP and led to vote tampering.

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari during the oath-taking ceremony at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on Saturday, May 09, 2026.