After a historic victory in the West Bengal elections 2026, Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the first BJP Chief Minister in the state on Saturday, May 9. Adhikari was sworn in by Governor R. N. Ravi. Apart from him, five other MLAs also took oath and will join the Council of Ministers, namely Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu, and Nisith Pramanik.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Union ministers and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states.
The 57-year-old Adhikari won from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, defeating outgoing CM Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur constituency by a margin of 15,115 votes.
Who are the other five ministers?
Apart from Suvendu Adhikari, five other MLAs also took oath today and will join him in the Council of Ministers.
Dilip Ghosh
Earlier considered a frontrunner in the CM race, Ghosh also took oath to join the Council of Ministers. Born in 1964, Ghosh began his career as a volunteer, or “Pracharak,” of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1984. He led the RSS in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from 1999 to 2007 and served as an assistant to former RSS chief K. S. Sudarshan.
After joining the BJP in 2014, Ghosh was appointed General Secretary of the West Bengal unit, and the next year he became the State President of the BJP in West Bengal. He also served as one of the national vice presidents of the Bharatiya Janata Party from 2021 to 2023. He was the ninth president of the West Bengal unit of the party.
Dilip Ghosh was elected as an MLA from the Kharagpur Sadar constituency. He defeated Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Pradip Sarkar in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections by a margin of 30,506 votes.
Agnimitra Paul
Her name was also on the list of CM candidates. Paul, born in 1974, was elected from the Asansol Dakshin constituency in the recently held West Bengal Legislative Assembly election. She retained the seat by winning with a significant margin of 40,839 votes.
Before joining the BJP, she worked as a fashion designer and previously served as President of the West Bengal unit of the BJP Mahila Morcha. She is also the General Secretary and Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal.
Ashok Kirtania
Ashok Kirtania is a BJP leader who defeated TMC’s Biswajit Das by a margin of 38,753 votes in the 2026 Assembly elections. In 2021, he defeated TMC’s Shyamal Roy by 10,488 votes.
The 52-year-old Kirtania is a graduate and works as both a politician and businessman. He belongs to the Matua community, where he is considered a strong community figure. However, he currently faces three criminal cases.
Kshudiram Tudu
Kshudiram Tudu is a first-time MLA who represented the Ranibandh (ST) constituency in Bankura district. The 55-year-old BJP leader won his seat by a margin of over 52,000 votes in a key tribal-dominated constituency.
According to his election affidavit, he is a graduate and declared assets worth around Rs 23 lakh. Unlike many prominent politicians in West Bengal, he has no criminal cases against him.
Nisith Pramanik
Born in 1986, the 40-year-old Pramanik previously served as Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports from 2021 to 2024. He was a Member of Parliament representing Cooch Behar from 2021 to 2024 as a BJP leader.
In 2021, at the age of 35, he became one of the youngest ministers in the Union government. Before joining the BJP in 2019, he was a member of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
With this swearing-in ceremony, a new political chapter begins in West Bengal. The coming days will decide how the new government shapes the state’s future.
