Suvendu Adhikari expands West Bengal Cabinet, 35 MLAs take oath as ministers
PTC Web Desk: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday carried out a major expansion of his Cabinet, with 35 MLAs taking oath as ministers during a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Kolkata.
The expansion completed the formation of the BJP-led government’s ministerial team in the state after the party’s historic victory in the Assembly elections earlier this year. The new team includes senior BJP leaders, fresh faces and representatives from different regions of West Bengal. Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly inducted ministers.
A total of 13 MLAs were sworn in as Cabinet ministers, while three legislators took oath as Ministers of State with Independent Charge. In addition, 19 MLAs joined the government as Ministers of State.
The leaders who joined the Cabinet as ministers include Deepak Barman, Tapas Roy, Shankar Ghosh, Manoj Kumar Oraon, Arjun Singh, Gouri Shankar Ghosh, Swapan Dasgupta, Jagannatha Chattopadhyay, Kalyan Chakraborty, Ajay Poddar, Saradwat Mukherjee, Dudh Kumar Mondal and Anup Kumar Das.
Indranil Khan, Malati Rava Roy and Rajesh Mahato were sworn in as Ministers of State (Independent Charge).
Among those inducted as Ministers of State are Joel Murmu, Hare Krishna Bera, Anandamay Barman, Ashok Dinda, Nadiar Chand Bauri, Vishal Lama, Shantanu Pramanik, Moumita Biswas Mishra, Umesh Ray, Purnima Chakravarty, Kaushik Chowdhury, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Dibakar Gharami, Amiya Kisku, Kalita Majhi, Gargi Das Ghosh, Biraj Biswas, Dipankar Jana and Sumana Sarkar.
Speaking after the ceremony, senior BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta described the occasion as an important moment for the state and said the government faces significant challenges along with high public expectations.
The BJP formed its first-ever government in West Bengal on May 9 after registering a landmark victory in the Assembly elections. Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as Chief Minister along with senior leaders Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Nisith Pramanik and Kshudiram Tudu in the first phase of cabinet formation.
- With inputs from agencies
