The Adhikari government completed a major administrative exercise with the induction of 35 ministers, setting the stage for portfolio allocation across departments.
Newly inducted ministers take the oath of office during the West Bengal cabinet expansion ceremony at Lok Bhavan in Kolkata on Monday. The induction of 35 ministers took the strength of the Council of Ministers to 41. (ANI Video Grab)
The West Bengal government on Monday completed a major expansion of its Council of Ministers, with 35 legislators taking oath at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Kolkata, taking the total strength to 41.
The induction of a large number of ministers marks a key administrative step for the government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The move is expected to facilitate the allocation of responsibilities across departments as the newly elected government settles into office and expands its administrative footprint across the state.
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Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office to the new ministers in the presence of senior leaders and officials.
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Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal later announced the names of the ministers inducted into the expanded Council of Ministers. Those sworn in as Cabinet Ministers included Tapas Roy, Manoj Oraon, Arjun Singh, Gaurishankar Ghosh, Dipak Barman, Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay, Arup Kumar Das, Swapan Dasgupta, Kalyan Chakraborty, Shankar Ghosh and Dudhkumar Mondal.
Malati Rava Roy, Rajesh Mahato and Indranil Khan took oath as Ministers of State with Independent Charge.
Those inducted as Ministers of State included Ashok Dinda, Kaushik Chowdhury, Joyel Murmu, Harekrishna Bera, Shantanu Pramanik, Umesh Roy, Purnima Chakraborty, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Dibakar Ghorami, Nadiyar Chand Bauri, Gargi Das Ghosh, Amiya Kisku, Kalita Maji, Biraj Biswas, Sumana Sarkar, Anandamoy Barman, Bishal Lama and Dipankar Jana, among others.
Of the 35 ministers sworn in on Monday, 13 were inducted as Cabinet Ministers, three as Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 19 as Ministers of State.
Total ministers sworn in: 35
Earlier, on 9 May, Suvendu Adhikari had taken oath as Chief Minister at Brigade Parade Ground along with five ministers. Portfolios had already been allocated among Agnimitra Paul, Dilip Ghosh, Nisith Pramanik, Ashok Kirtonia and Khudiram Tudu. With the swearing-in of 35 ministers on Monday, the strength of the BJP-led West Bengal government has gone up to 41 ministers.
With the latest expansion, the state government has substantially broadened its ministerial team, paving the way for the distribution of portfolios and departmental responsibilities.
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, BJP MLA Arjun Singh expressed confidence about taking on his new role and said he would work in line with the expectations of both the party and the people.
Speaking to ANI, Singh said, “I always take on new responsibilities and strive to fulfil them.”
He added, “Even today, I am about to take on a new responsibility. Whatever the government wants, the party wants, or the people want, we must rise to the occasion. That is our priority.”
On Sunday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had confirmed that 35 ministers would be inducted into the state government.
In a post on X, he said Governor RN Ravi would administer the oath of office to the new ministers at Lok Bhavan.
“The full Cabinet of the democratically elected Nationalist State Government of West Bengal will be sworn in at the Lok Bhavan. 35 Ministers of the WB Govt will take their Oath of Office, administered by His Excellency, the Hon’ble Governor Shri R N Ravi Ji. We stand committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the People of West Bengal,” Adhikari said.
The swearing-in ceremony formally completed the first major cabinet formation exercise of the new government.
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