Suvendu sworn in as Bhowanipore MLA; 150 others take oath of office

MP, May 14, 2026, Kolkata : Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday took oath as an MLA from the Bhowanipore constituency, signifying that he will vacate the Nandigram seat.

Along with Adhikari, about 150 other MLAs took the oath of office. A total of around 150 legislators were administered oath in the Assembly by pro-tem Speaker Tapas Roy.

Adhikari, who won both the Bhowanipore and Nandigram Assembly seats, was the first to take the oath.

“Someone else will be elected as MLA from Nandigram (in a bypoll). But I will not let the people there feel my absence. I will fulfil all development promises I made to the people of Nandigram alongside the rest of the state,” Adhikari told reporters at the Assembly premises.

He referred to the 2009–2016 tenure of Phiroja Bibi as a TMC MLA from Nandigram when he was a frontline leader of the Trinamool Congress.

“I had provided all support to Phiroja Bibi, the mother of a martyr in the 2008 Nandigram police firing, although I wasn’t officially the MLA from that seat. I will play a similar role this time too,” he said.

Right from his entry to the Assembly, Adhikari drew attention, particularly through his act of bowing his head on the steps of the main building that houses the Assembly floor.

He was welcomed by the pro-tem Speaker Tapas Roy, the BJP MLA from Maniktala constituency.

In accordance with tradition, a Guard of Honour was accorded to him within the Assembly premises. He then garlanded the statue of B. R. Ambedkar and proceeded to the chamber designated for the Chief Minister within the Assembly building, where he performed a ritualistic worship.

Later, Adhikari posted a video of the ceremony on social media showing him performing rituals accompanied by a priest, with the sound of a conch shell in the background.

From the Chief Minister’s chamber, he moved to the Assembly Hall.

Adhikari, in the recently concluded Assembly polls, defeated Trinamool chairperson Mamata Banerjee from Bhowanipore by a margin of 15,105 votes and defended his own Nandigram seat by 9,665 votes.

As many as 156 out of 293 MLAs were scheduled to take oath on Wednesday, of whom 150 did so. The rest are expected to take oath on Thursday.

Sajal Ghosh was among those unable to attend due to urgent work and informed the pro-tem Speaker that he would take oath later.

Former Speaker Biman Banerjee raised questions over the use of the House for the oath-taking ceremony, stating that permission is required and that only the Speaker can approve such use.

Meanwhile, the inaugural day of the oath-taking ceremony was marked by a state-sponsored fish meal for legislators, giving the proceedings a distinctive cultural tone.