Preparations are underway at the Brigade Parade Ground ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new West Bengal government if the BJP wins the West Bengal elections on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) in Kolkata. | Photo credit: ANI
The Chief Minister and select members of the Council of Ministers of the first Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal will be sworn in on Saturday (May 9, 2026).
According to the Bengali calendar, this day is considered auspicious and is celebrated as “Pachise Baishak” (25th day of the Bengali month of Baishak) across the state as it marks the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya told the media that a meeting of elected BJP legislators will be held on Friday and the BJP government will be sworn in the next day.
“A meeting of elected BJP legislators will be held on May 8 at 4 pm. The new BJP government will be sworn in on May 9 at 10 am at the Brigade Parade Ground,” Mr Bhattacharya announced on Wednesday (May 6). Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several chief ministers from BJP and NDA-ruled states are expected to be present during the ceremony. Mr. Bhattacharya also visited the Nabanna State Secretariat and discussed arrangements for the oath-taking with the Chief Secretary.
With the BJP securing 207 of the 293 assembly seats that went to polls, all eyes are on who will be the chief minister.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, described himself as a “disciplined party worker and will do whatever the party leadership tells him to do”. Mr. Adhikari said the party would take a call on which of the two seats it won — Bhabanipur or Nandigram — it would retain.
In addition to speculation about the post of chief minister, the party is talking about ministerial berths. BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, Siliguri MLA Sankar Ghosh, prominent female face Agnimitra Pal and senior party leader Tapas Roy are among the top contenders for ministerial posts.
Meanwhile, the newly elected Trinamool Congress members met at party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s residence, with senior party leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay likely to be named as the Leader of the Opposition.
During the day, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal met Governor RN Ravi at the Lok Bhavan to complete the legal formalities of passing the gazette notification containing the names of the elected members of the new assembly.
Additional security removed from Mamata, Abhishek’s residence
In a separate development, additional police deployment and security arrangements in the area outside the residences of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee on Harish Chatterjee Street and Harish Mukherjee Road have been withdrawn following a review, though their existing security categorization remains unchanged.
Senior officials of Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police said both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee would continue to receive police protection.
“As per ‘Yellow Book’ protocol, the former chief minister will be given Z-Plus category security,” West Bengal Director General of Police Siddh Nath Gupta said.
Published – 06 May 2026 16:27 IST
