At his last campaign rally, Modi had said that he would return to Bengal for the oath-taking ceremony.
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Party insiders indicated that senior leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading the race to become the next chief minister. A senior BJP leader told ET that Bengal, being a large state, requires an experienced administrator, a factor working in Adhikari’s favour. Other leaders like Nishit Pramanik and Agnimitra Paul are also expected to feature prominently in the new government.
The oath ceremony will be held at 10 am at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. Apart from the PM, Union ministers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, BJP chief Nitin Nabin and several BJP leaders, along with chief ministers of 20 states, will attend the ceremony.
“On May 8, the meeting of BJP MLAs (and parliamentary board) will be held at 4 pm, where the new CM will be chosen. The oath-taking event will be held on May 9,” Bhattacharya told mediapersons. Amit Shah will be present in the meeting.
Bhattacharya had visited Nabanna after BJP’s landslide victory and met senior officials. He was accompanied by BJP MPs Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato and Saumitra Khan. “We held meetings with the chief secretary and home secretary and discussed arrangements for the ceremony,” he said.Also Read: Bengal reset: How BJP dismantled TMC’s fortress with strategy, structure and sentiment shift
West Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal and Election Commission of India officials met governor RN Ravi on Wednesday at Lok Bhavan. Chief secretary Dushyant Nariala was also present. “The term of the old assembly ends today. A statutory notification is issued by ECI, and the names of MLAs are submitted to the governor. The work of the ECI ends there. Lok Bhavan will complete the remaining constitutional process,” the CEO said. Outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee is yet to resign officially.
Agarwal said, “The ECI has already published the gazette notification of the winning candidates. Now, the governor will take decisions as per constitutional provisions.”
Bhattacharya said: “We made it clear in 2021 that we want to run the government from the iconic Writers’ Building. We stand by that decision. The chief minister will take the necessary steps after the oath.”
