Swearing-in ceremony of BJP government in Bengal on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata: Samik Bhattacharya

The swearing-in ceremony of the BJP government in West Bengal will be held at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on May 9, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Wednesday, confirming the development that The Statesman had reported when counting of votes was underway.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with several other top leaders of the BJP, including chief ministers of NDA-ruled states, are expected to attend the ceremony.

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So far, the saffron party has not declared its chief ministerial face but several names are doing the rounds.

While expected frontrunners such as Suvendu Adhikari, Samik Bhattacharya, and Dilip Ghosh remain in the spotlight, the buzz has also grown around two other names — Agnimitra Paul and Roopa Ganguly — in the past 24 hours.

The legislative party meeting will be held on Thursday evening, following which an official announcement of the CM will be made.

While Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, remains a top contender, Agnimitra Paul can also emerge as a counter and a woman face.

A BJP leader earlier told The Statesman that the party may adopt a formula similar to Delhi where Parvesh Verma, who defeated Arvind Kejriwal, was made the deputy CM and Rekha Gupta, a woman, was elevated to the CM post.

“The same formula can be applied in Bengal, with two or more deputy CMs,” the BJP leader added.

The BJP secured a landslide victory in the recently concluded Bengal Assembly elections, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.

This is the first time the saffron party has come to power in Bengal. The BJP won 207 seats, reducing the ruling TMC to just 80 seats.

Some political drama is also expected as outgoing CM Mamata Banerjee has refused to step down, accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of India of electoral fraud, a charge that both have vehemently rejected.