New Bengal cabinet to take oath on May 9 in presence of PM Modi, HM Shah: State BJP chief

KOLKATA, (IANS): The new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in West Bengal will take oath on May 9 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP's West Bengal president and Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya said on Wednesday.

Speaking to mediapersons, Bhattacharya said May 9 was chosen for the swearing-in ceremony as the day coincides with the birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore according to the Bengali calendar.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Brigade Parade Ground.

However, Bhattacharya refused to comment on who would become the Chief Minister of the first BJP-led government in West Bengal since Independence.

On Wednesday, Bhattacharya also visited the state secretariat, Nabanna, along with BJP’s central observer for West Bengal Sunil Bansal and party Lok Sabha members from the state JyotirmoyMahato and Saumitra Khan for a meeting with Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala.

The meeting focused on two key issues.

The first was preparedness for the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet.

The second, and more crucial issue, was the steps being taken by the administration, which remains under the supervision of the Election Commission of India (ECI), to prevent incidents of post-poll violence in the state.

Bhattacharya has already sent a strong message to party workers that the leadership will not tolerate any politics of revenge following the change of regime in West Bengal.

“Be it the Trinamool Congress, CPI-M, or any other party, not a single incident involving forceful takeover of party offices and hoisting of BJP flags there will be tolerated. The party will take strict disciplinary action against anyone found involved in such activities. At the same time, I urge the administration to take stringent action against the guilty without considering their party affiliations,” Bhattacharya said earlier in the day.

The ECI has already directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police and the CAPFs deployed in the state to ensure zero tolerance towards post-poll violence.

The directive from the ECI came following reports of several incidents of violence reported from different parts of the state since Monday evening after the declaration of the West Bengal Assembly election results.