The West Bengal government underwent a major cabinet expansion with 35 new ministers taking oath at a swearing-in ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Kolkata. Governor R. N. Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new members of the Council of Ministers in the presence of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, senior BJP leaders and state officials. The expansion comes around three weeks after the BJP formed its first government in West Bengal following its victory in the 2026 Assembly elections. When Adhikari was sworn in as chief minister on 9 May 2026, only five ministers had taken oath alongside him. Among those inducted as Cabinet Ministers were Swapan Dasgupta, Arjun Singh, Manoj Oraon, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, Tapash Roy, Dipak Burman, Shankar Ghosh, Kalyan Chakraborty, Arup Kumar Das, Ajay Kumar Poddar, Saradwat Mukhopadhyay, Dudh Kumar Mondol and Gouri Shankar Ghosh. Malati Rava Roy, Indranil Khan and Rajesh Mahato took oath as Ministers of State with Independent Charge. Ashok Dinda, Umesh Roy, Koushik Chowdhury, Kalita Maji, Moumita Biswas Misra, Gargi Ghosh Das, Dipankar Jana, Purnima Chakraborty, Bishal Lama, Harikrishna Bera, Anandamoy Burman, Shantanu Pramanik, Biraj Biswas, Amiya Kisku, Juyel Murmu, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Dibakar Gharami, Sumana Sarkar and Noder Chand Bauri were sworn in as Ministers of State. The cabinet expansion is seen as an effort by the BJP government to strengthen administrative capacity while ensuring broader regional and social representation across the state. Several ministers have been drawn from North Bengal, tribal regions and key political districts, reflecting the party's attempt to balance experienced leaders with first-time legislators. With the latest inductions, the strength of the Council of Ministers has moved closer to the constitutional limit for the state. Portfolios for the newly inducted ministers are expected to be announced later. The expansion is the first major reshuffle under the Adhikari-led government and is expected to play a key role in shaping the BJP's governance agenda in the state over the next five years. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |