With this cabinet expansion the total strength of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s council of ministers went upto 41. Photo: PTI screenshot
Former domestic worker, journalists among 35 new ministers in Suvendu Cabinet
Suvendu Adhikari’s council swells to 41 ministers, boosting representation for North Bengal and diverse communities after BJP's historic electoral win
West Bengal's first BJP-led government underwent its first major cabinet expansion on Monday (June 1) with Governor RN Ravi administering the oath to 35 MLAs as ministers in the state’s first BJP-helmed cabinet.
With this cabinet expansion the total strength of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s council of ministers went upto 41.
While 13 BJP MLAs were sworn in as cabinet ministers, three were administered oath as ministers of state (Independent Charge) and 19 others were inducted in the council as ministers of state.
The ceremony took place at the Lok Bhavan in Kolkata in the presence of Adhikari, the existing ministers of his cabinet and senior bureaucrats of the state administration. Newly-elected BJP MLAs Swapan Dasgupta, Shankar Ghosh, Arjun Singh, Tapas Roy, Saradwat Mukherjee and Jagannath Chattopadhyay were among those who took oath as cabinet ministers.
Also read: Bengal Cabinet set for major expansion: Here are probable names to become ministers
Party MLAs Dudh Kumar Mondal, Deepak Burman, Manoj Oraon and Gouri Shankar Ghosh were also sworn in as cabinet ministers. BJP legislators Rajesh Mahata, Indranil Khan and Malati Rava Roy were sworn in as ministers of state (Independent Charge) in the Suvendu Adhikari government.
Purpose of cabinet expansion
The cabinet expansion is expected to focus on broader social and regional representation.
The existing ministry already includes leaders representing women (Agnimitra Paul), Matuas (Ashok Kirtania), Rajbangshis (Nisith Pramanik), and tribals (Kshudiram Tudu) and according to reports, party leaders have said the expanded Council of Ministers will see representation from other communities.
BJP leaders have indicated that the expanded council will bring in representatives from other social groups and regions, as the party seeks to consolidate its support base after its landmark victory of 208 seats, which ended the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule in the state.
Under the 91st Constitutional Amendment, the size of a state cabinet cannot exceed 15 per cent of the total Assembly strength. In West Bengal’s 294-member Assembly, the maximum permissible number of ministers is 44, leaving the Adhikari government three positions short of the limit.
Prominent inclusions
Among the most notable inclusions is Kalita Maji, the BJP MLA from Aushgram in Purba Bardhaman, who reportedly worked as a domestic worker before entering politics. Another prominent new face is young Karandighi MLA Biraj Biswas from Uttar Dinajpur.
The expansion boosts North Bengal's representation in the state cabinet. Besides Union minister-turned-state minister Nisith Pramanik, who was among the first five ministers sworn in on May 9, several North Bengal legislators, including Shankar Ghosh, Bishal Lama, Juyel Murmu, Anandamoy Burman, Dipak Burman and Malati Rava Roy, have been inducted into the ministry.
Assembly Speaker Rathindra Ghosh also hails from the region.
Also read: Bengal heist: How BJP captured the state by hollowing out democracy
The expanded council will also feature several women ministers, including Moumita Biswas Misra, Sumana Sarkar, Gargi Ghosh Das and Purnima Chakraborty.
Ministers of state
Among the ministers of state who were administered the oath were Joyel Murmu, Ashok Dinda, Anandamoy Burman, Kaushik Chowdhury, Gargi Das Ghosh, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Dibakar Gharami and Sumana Sarkar.
BJP MLAs Santanu Pramanik, Purnima Chakraborty and Umesh Rai were also sworn in as ministers of state.
The current strength of ministers is now 41, three short of the maximum count that a government can have in the 294-member assembly.
Cabinet expansion
The oath-taking ceremony was held three weeks after Adhikari was sworn in as the chief minister on May 9 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP’s central leadership and CMs of NDA-ruled states.
Along with Adhikari at that time, BJP legislators Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Nisith Pramanik, Ashok Kirtania and Kshudiram Tudu also took oath as ministers on that day.
The cabinet expansion was expected this week as Adhikari and state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya held meetings in New Delhi with the party's central leadership last week about the induction of members in the council of ministers.
The May 9 swearing-in ceremony was held at the iconic Brigade Parade Grounds after the BJP secured 208 seats in the 294-member assembly in the recently concluded elections, ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule and scripting its most significant electoral breakthrough in eastern India.