Suvendu Adhikari Oath Ceremony LIVE Updates: West Bengal will get its first BJP chief minister as Governor RN Ravi administers the oath to Suvendu Adhikari at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground. Adhikari will become the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal succeeding Mamata Banerjee, who had occupied the Chair for the last 15 years since 2011.
The oath ceremony will be conducted on Saturday, which coincides with the birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore as per the Bengali calendar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers from other BJP-ruled states, some important members of the Union Cabinet and several top Central BJP leaders, will be present at the ceremony.
Adhikari played a key role in Trinamool Congress' Nandigram stir, which was among the key reasons attributed for the end of the 24-year Left Front regime in West Bengal and the beginning of the Trinamool Congress government. Differences surfaced in 2019 and he finally quit the TMC in 2021, later going on to lead the BJP's charge against the government led by Banerjee, who once considered him a close aide.
Adhikari said that he will run the new state administration on the basis of "collective leadership", instead of shifting all his decisions on the other Cabinet members. Even after officially becoming the former chief minister, Banerjee's Facebook and X accounts carries the tag of "Founder Chairperson All India Trinamool Congress. Honourable Chief Minister, West Bengal".
Follow LIVE Updates On Suvendu Adhikari Oath-Taking Ceremony:
Bengal Politics LIVE: Security Tightened Ahead Of Suvendu Adhikari's Swearing-in
Security was tightened across key locations in Kolkata ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the first BJP government in West Bengal, including at the residence of chief minister-designate Suvendu Adhikari in Chinar Park, Brigade Parade Grounds and outside former CM Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence.
Security arrangements were also intensified at the RCTC Ground, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to land before attending the ceremony.
A multi-layered security apparatus, including central forces and Kolkata Police personnel, was put in place at Brigade Parade Grounds, the venue of the swearing-in ceremony.
Even Before Oath, A BJP Move To Undo Trinamool Decision
After the oath ceremony, the new Cabinet members, led by Suvendu Adhikari will take charge of the administration at the old state secretariat of Writers' Buildings in central Kolkata, instead of Nabanna at Mandirtala in Kolkata-adjacent Howrah district, which became the new state secretariat during the previous Trinamool Congress-ruled and Mamata Banerjee-led state government.
Nabanna was originally designed and projected during the Left Front regime as a garments' hub. However, just two years after coming to power in 2011, Mamata Banerjee, in 2013 decided to shift the state secretariat to Nabanna, reportedly following the advice of her personal astrologer.
Accordingly, the new state secretariat started functioning from Nabanna from October 5, 2013. However, with the BJP now in power in the state, it had decided to bring back the state secretariat to historical Writers' Building where from all the Chief Ministers of West Bengal prior to Mamata Banerjee, starting from late Prafulla Chandra Ghosh to late Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, had operated from.
Suvendu Adhikari Pays Tribute To Rabindranath Tagore
West Bengal chief minister-elect Suvendu Adhikari paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his birth anniversary, describing the Nobel laureate as an "eternal star" in the sky of Bengali literature and culture.
In a post on X, he said Tagore's "immortal creations, humanitarian philosophy, and patriotism" have guided people through the ages.
"May human civilisation advance, inspired by the great message, 'Where the mind is without fear, and the head held high'. On the poet-sage's birth anniversary, I pay my humble tribute to him," Adhikari said.
Colours, Culture Congregate At Kolkata's Brigade Ground Ahead Of Oath-Taking
VIDEO | Kolkata: Brigade Parade Ground reverberates with culture as artists from Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, and Purulia showcase West Bengal's folk spirit, ahead of the oath taking ceremony of the newly elected BJP government in West Bengal.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 9, 2026
West Bengal BJP Legislative Party… pic.twitter.com/aW2grs3fo0
'Sonar Bangla Era Begins': Suvendu Adhikari Welcomes PM Modi To Kolkata
A historic dawn for West Bengal indeed.
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) May 9, 2026
It is a moment of profound pride and jubilation to welcome Visionary Leader Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to the City of Joy.
Today, as we witness the Swearing-in-Ceremony of the first-ever BJP Government in West Bengal since… pic.twitter.com/XCuJxwPBw3
Did SIR Impact West Bengal Results? What Election Commission Data Says
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls emerged as one of the most politically contentious issues in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Post-election data released by the Election Commission paints a far more complex picture. The numbers suggest that while there were indeed large-scale deletions of "ineligible" electors during the SIR process, there were also equally significant additions of eligible voters before nominations closed.
More importantly, many of the constituencies that saw the highest deletions eventually voted in favour of the very parties that had opposed the SIR process most aggressively.
Heavy Security Outside Suvendu Adhikari's Residence Ahead Of Swearing-In
#WATCH | Kolkata | West Bengal BJP Legislative Party Leader Suvendu Adhikari to take oath as the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal since Independence, today.
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2026
(Visuals from outside his residence) pic.twitter.com/zFqq8muJA6
#WATCH | Kolkata | West Bengal BJP Legislative Party Leader Suvendu Adhikari to take oath as the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal since Independence, today.
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2026
(Visuals from outside his residence) pic.twitter.com/owKJP6H4fB
Suvendu Adhikari: The Man Who Never Forgot How He Was Denied A Stage In 2011
The year was 1993. On July 21, in the heart of Kolkata, police opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators. Thirteen people were killed. The march had been led by Mamata Banerjee, then a Young Congress leader, towards the Writers' Building as part of the "Writers' Chalo" movement. The incident shook Bengal politics to its core and would go on to become one of the most enduring emotional symbols of Mamata Banerjee's political movement.
Since then, every year, Mamata has observed July 21 as Shahid Dibas - Martyrs' Day. Even after the formation of the Trinamool Congress, the event continued to grow in scale and significance. Over the years, it became one of the biggest annual political gatherings in Bengal.
The story of Suvendu Adhikari - one of Bengal's most consequential political figures of recent times - begins 18 years later, in 2011.
'Giant-killer' Suvendu Adhikari Defeated Mamata Banerjee In 2021 And 2026
Suvendu Adhikari got elected simultaneously from his native Nandigram assembly constituency in East Midnapore district and Bhabanipur assembly constituency in South Kolkata. At Bhabanipur, he defeated his predecessor and the former chief minister Mamata Banerjee by a margin of over 15,000 votes.
Adhikari first earned the 'giant-killer' tag in the 2021 Assembly elections after defeating Banerjee from Nandigram.
8 Proposals, 1 Name: Meeting Where Suvendu Adhikari's Appointment Was Decided
Union Home Minister Amit Shah officially announced Suvendu Adhikari as the next Chief Minister of West Bengal on Fridau, marking the beginning of the state's first-ever Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government since Independence.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Shah with newly elected BJP legislators following the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, whose results were declared on May 4.
In the meeting, Adhikari's name was officially endorsed as the leader of the BJP's legislature party in the West Bengal Assembly, which means that he will be the next Chief Minister of the state.
"The process of selecting the leader of the party's legislative party in the state assembly has been completed. A total of eight proposals were received. In all the proposals, there was just one name. Enough time was given for any proposal for a second name. But no second name was proposed. So, I proposed the name of Suvendu Adhikari as the next Chief Minister of West Bengal," HM Shah said in the meeting.
Suvendu Adhikari To Be Sworn In As Chief Minister
West Bengal will get its first BJP chief minister as Governor RN Ravi administers the oath to Suvendu Adhikari at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground.
Adhikari will become the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal succeeding Mamata Banerjee, who had occupied the Chair for the last 15 years since 2011.
The oath ceremony will be conducted on Saturday, which coincides with the birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore as per the Bengali calendar.
