West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari significantly expanded his cabinet on Monday, with 35 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs taking oath as ministers at the Lok Bhavan in Kolkata.
Governor RN Ravi administered the oath at 11 a.m., bringing the total strength of the council of ministers to 41, three short of the constitutional maximum of 44.
The expansion came three weeks after Adhikari was sworn in as chief minister on May 9, following the BJP's historic victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections that ended the Trinamool Congress' 15-year hold on power. In that first phase, four ministers — Agnimitra Paul, Nisith Pramanik, Ashok Kirtania, and Kshudiram Tudu — had been sworn in alongside Adhikari.
Monday's induction comprised 13 Cabinet Ministers, three Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 19 Ministers of State.
Among the most talked-about inductees is Kalita Majhi, the BJP MLA from Aushgram in Purba Bardhaman, who reportedly worked as a domestic worker before entering politics. Young Karandighi MLA Biraj Biswas from Uttar Dinajpur is another notable new face.
Journalist-turned-politicians Swapan Dasgupta and Jagannath Chattopadhyay have also been inducted, as have senior BJP leaders Arjun Singh, Tapas Roy, and Indranil Khan.
VIDEO | Kolkata: BJP MLAs including Swapan Dasgupta, Dudh Kumar Mondal sworn in as minister at the Lok Bhavan.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 1, 2026
35 MLAs will be sworn in as ministers at the ceremony in Lok Bhavan.
Governor RN Ravi will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers.
(Full… pic.twitter.com/4d9iOnnHXK
The expansion marks a significant boost for North Bengal's representation in the cabinet, with Shankar Ghosh, Bishal Lama, Juyel Murmu, Anandamoy Burman, Dipak Burman, and Malati Rava Roy all finding berths.
The expanded council also features several women ministers, including Moumita Biswas Misra, Sumana Sarkar, Gargi Das Ghosh, and Purnima Chakraborty.
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 House, that caps the ministry at 44, leaving Adhikari three positions in reserve.
Cabinet Ministers (13): Deepak Barman, Tapas Roy, Shankar Ghosh, Manoj Kumar Oraon, Arjun Singh, Gouri Shankar Ghosh, Swapan Dasgupta, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, Kalyan Chakraborty, Ajay Poddar, Saradwat Mukherjee, Dudh Kumar Mondal, Anup Kumar Das.
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Ministers of State (Independent Charge) (3): Indranil Khan, Malati Rava Roy, Rajesh Mahato.
Ministers of State (19): Joel Murmu, Hare Krishna Bera, Anandamay Barman, Ashok Dinda, Nadiar Chand Bauri, Vishal Lama, Shantanu Pramanik, Moumita Biswas Mishra, Umesh Ray, Purnima Chakravarty, Kaushik Chowdhury, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Dibakar Gharami, Amiya Kisku, Kalita Majhi, Gargi Das Ghosh, Biraj Biswas, Dipankar Jana, Sumana Sarkar.
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