West Bengal has gone from the election itself to the work of running the government; the newly chosen members of the Assembly, including Chief Minister Adhikari, were sworn in on Wednesday. This followed a week where the BJP won 206 seats and the government set the 45-day timeframe for quickly building the border fence.
A new Assembly, a larger BJP bench
The 2026 election results have totally changed the number of seats each party has. The BJP now has 206 of the 294 seats in the Assembly, a huge increase from the 77 they had previously. The Trinamool Congress went from 212 seats to 80, and is currently ahead in one area.
These numbers aren’t just for show. Because they have a good number of seats, the government is moving to make quick decisions and make sure all parts of the administration work well together. Adhikari himself won in both Bhabanipur and Nandigram, giving him more power within the Assembly and the BJP party.
Oath-taking underscores authority and ritual
Tapas Roy, the temporary Speaker, had the new MLAs swear their oaths. Agnimitra Paul, Dilip Ghosh, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik, all recently appointed as ministers, were among those who swore in, and Dilip Ghosh swore as the MLA for Kharagpur Sadar.
The ceremony itself was significant. Adhikari laid flowers at the statue of B R Ambedkar, received a salute from the guard of honour, and bowed at the Assembly building’s steps as he went in. These actions were similar to what he said during the election and showed he intends to continue the work of the election, the institution of the Assembly, and the government’s plans.
Governance agenda moves quickly
The Chief Minister announced steps to give land to the Border Security Force for fencing the India-Bangladesh border very quickly after being in charge. He said the Ministry of Home Affairs would receive the land within 45 days, with the goal of stopping people from entering the country illegally.
This decision came from the first cabinet meeting at Nabanna in Howrah, with the most important government officials there, and was presented as part of the BJP’s ‘double-engine government’ plan. Adhikari said this move would be a quick way to show that the government can get things done and that different government agencies can work with each other.
Here are the key steps as outlined by the Chief Minister:
– Begin transferring land to the BSF immediately
– Complete handover to the MHA within 45 days
– Enable the BSF to finish border fencing
– Resolve illegal infiltration in a short period
Adhikari stated, “We have decided in our very first Cabinet meeting today to give the land to the BSF. The process of doing this starts today and the land will be with the MHA within 45 days. After that, the BSF will finish the border fence and the problem of illegal immigration will be fixed fairly soon.”
What happens next inside government
Officials say the Chief Minister has a meeting set for 2 pm at Nabanna with the heads of all the different departments. This meeting is expected to get all the departments focused on the government’s most important early goals and what it promised to do during the election.
This follows a very public swearing-in on Saturday, where Adhikari became the ninth Chief Minister. Governor RN Ravi led the oath, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, members of the Union Cabinet, and important leaders of the BJP were there, giving the change of power in the state national importance.
A political climb meets a decisive mandate
Adhikari has been working his way to the top for over thirty years, starting as a basic worker for the Congress party in the coastal area of Bengal, and now leading the BJP’s first government in the state. He says the results mark the beginning of a ‘Sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bengal) period, and he’s saying he will be judged on how quickly he makes things happen and how well the different parts of the government cooperate.
For the parties who are now in the opposition, their fewer seats mean they have to rethink their plans within the Assembly. For the BJP, the swearing-in officially means they are moving from what they said they would do during the campaign, to actually doing it, with managing the borders and looking at how the administration works being the first tests of their speed and how well they work together.
