kolkata

IIE DIGITAL DESK ; Kolkata, June 1: The cabinet of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was expanded on Monday with the swearing-in of 35 BJP legislators as ministers in the state government. The oath-taking ceremony was held at Lok Bhavan, where Governor R. N. Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy. The event was attended by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, senior government officials, and political leaders.

Total of 35 legislators took the oath on Monday as part of the expanded ministry. Among them, 13 were inducted as Cabinet Ministers, three were sworn in as Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 19 assumed office as Ministers of State. The newly formed ministry has been described as a balanced combination of experienced political figures and fresh faces, reflecting the BJP government's effort to create a broad-based administrative team for West Bengal.

The newly inducted ministers included prominent BJP leaders such as Tapas Roy, Shankar Ghosh, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, Swapan Dasgupta, Arjun Singh, Kalita Maji, Manoj Oraon, Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay, Dudhkumar Mondal, Malati Rava Roy, and Indranil Kha, among others. Five ministers had already taken oath earlier, taking the total strength of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's first cabinet to 40 members.

The 13 Cabinet Ministers sworn in on Monday are Tapas Roy, Deepak Barman, Arjun Singh, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, Swapan Dasgupta, Kalyan Chakraborty, Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay, Dudhkumar Mondal, Ajay Kumar Poddar, Shankar Ghosh, Arup Kumar Das, Gaurishankar Ghosh, and Manoj Kumar Oraon. They are expected to head key departments in the state administration and play a significant role in implementing the government's policy agenda.

Three leaders took oath as Ministers of State with Independent Charge. They are Indranil Kha, Malati Rava Roy, and Rajesh Mahato. These ministers will independently oversee their respective departments while reporting directly to the Chief Minister and the cabinet.

The 19 Ministers of State sworn in include Juel Murmu, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Rai, Kaushik Choudhury, Kalita Maji, Moumita Biswas Mishra, Gargi Ghosh Das, Dipankar Jana, Purnima Chakraborty, Harikrishna Bera, Anandamoy Barman, Shantanu Pramanik, Amiya Kisku, Biraj Biswas, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Dibakar Gharami, Sumana Sarkar, Bishal Lama, and Nader Chand Bauri.

With the completion of the swearing-in ceremony, the first cabinet under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has taken full shape. The government is expected to begin the allocation of portfolios and departmental responsibilities soon, paving the way for the new administration to formally commence its governance agenda across West Bengal.