West Bengal Cabinet expansion: 35 ministers to take oath tomorrow
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Vijayapura: The full Cabinet of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal is set to be constituted on Monday, with 35 new ministers scheduled to take oath at Lok Bhavan as part of a major expansion exercise.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the development through a social media post on Sunday, stating that the “full Cabinet of the nationalist government elected by the people of West Bengal” would be formed the next day. He confirmed that 35 ministers would be sworn in at 11 a.m. at Lok Bhavan, with Governor R.N. Ravi administering the oath.
The Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in West Bengal for the first time on May 4 after defeating the Trinamool Congress. Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as Chief Minister on May 9 at the Brigade Parade Ground in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with five other ministers.
Since then, discussions around a full-scale cabinet expansion had intensified. Last week, the Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party state president Samik Bhattacharya held separate meetings with the party’s central leadership in Delhi, further fuelling speculation that the expansion was imminent.
With the inclusion of 35 new ministers, the total size of the Cabinet will rise to 41, including the Chief Minister. As per constitutional provisions, a state Cabinet cannot exceed 15 per cent of the total strength of the Assembly. In the case of the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, the maximum permissible strength is 44 ministers.
A party source said the delay in finalising the Cabinet was due to the need to ensure balanced regional representation, as the Bharatiya Janata Party received support across almost all districts of the state in the election. The leadership reportedly wanted to ensure adequate representation from different regions.
It is also learnt that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari may allocate portfolios to the newly inducted ministers after the oath-taking ceremony on Monday, although no details have been provided regarding which of the 208 winning Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs will be included in the Cabinet.
With IANS inputs