Three weeks after becoming West Bengal's first BJP chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari inducted 35 new ministers on Monday, bringing the council to 41 members.
The expansion took place at Lok Bhavan in Kolkata, where Governor R N Ravi administered the oaths. Thirteen new cabinet ministers were sworn in, along with three ministers of state with independent charge and 19 ministers of state.
The new team includes veterans such as Swapan Dasgupta and Arjun Singh as well as first-time MLAs like Kalita Majhi, a former house help, and 32-year-old Biraj Biswas. The BJP government now has six women ministers, four tribal ministers and eight scheduled caste ministers.
Nine ministers hail from north Bengal, and at least nine have RSS backgrounds. Portfolios will be assigned on Wednesday, cabinet minister Tapas Roy said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah conveyed his best wishes to the new ministers.
