Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday took oath as the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister of West Bengal, marking a historic political shift in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, J. P. Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan attended the swearing-in ceremony along with several Chief Ministers, including Manik Saha, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rekha Gupta and Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Adhikari’s elevation came a day after he was unanimously elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party following the party’s sweeping victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

In the elections, Adhikari registered victories in two of the state’s most high-profile constituencies — Bhabanipur and Nandigram. According to Election Commission figures, he defeated outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur by a margin of over 15,000 votes. He also secured a comfortable win from Nandigram with more than 1.27 lakh votes.

The BJP secured a landslide victory in the Assembly polls, winning 207 seats in the 294-member House, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had ruled the state for 15 years, was reduced to 80 seats.

The elections also witnessed record voter participation, with West Bengal registering one of the highest voter turnouts since Independence. Polling in Phase-II recorded 91.66 per cent turnout, while Phase-I saw 93.19 per cent voting, taking the overall turnout to 92.47 per cent.

Congratulating Adhikari, Prime Minister Modi said the new Chief Minister had remained closely connected with the people and understood their aspirations.

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“Congratulations to Shri Suvendu Adhikari Ji on taking oath as West Bengal’s Chief Minister. He has made a mark as a leader who has remained deeply connected to the people and understood their aspirations from close quarters. My best wishes to him for a fruitful tenure ahead,” Modi posted on X.

The Prime Minister also congratulated BJP leaders Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik on taking oath as ministers in the new government.

“These leaders have worked tirelessly at the grassroots and served people. I am confident they will further strengthen West Bengal’s development journey as Ministers,” the Prime Minister said.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Modi also met the families of slain BJP workers Debasish Mondal, Soumitra Ghoshal and Ananda Paul. (with ANI inputs)