May 9th is the date for the BJP to have their new Chief Minister sworn in, and this is a key moment for West Bengal. The date is politically important and also connects to the culture of the state, but the location of the swearing in and who the BJP have chosen as their Chief Minister are still to be revealed.
Samik Bhattacharya, the BJP leader in West Bengal, has said the swearing-in will be on May and after Prime Minister Modi called the win a ‘historic victory’ and said the BJP’s ‘lotus’ (their symbol) had ‘bloomed’ in West Bengal, people in the party were very happy.
During the last of his campaign speeches in Barrackpore, the Prime Minister stated he was going back with the certainty that after the results on May 4th, he would return to Barrackpore to be at the BJP’s swearing-in.
Why May 9 matters
The planned ceremony falls on Pochishe Boishakh, Rabindra Jayanti, a day that is a really important part of what it means to be from Bengal. This choice of date mixes the usual time for things after an election with a symbolic gesture in a state where Rabindranath Tagore is highly respected and his writings are part of daily life.
People inside the party say they want to use this date to show a fresh start, but also to recognise the culture of the state. We should get the official details of the timing and location very soon, and preparations are speeding up.
Who will be chief minister? Decision window opens
The BJP haven’t yet announced who their Chief Minister will be. It’s been reported the Prime Minister will meet with Amit Shah (the Union Home Minister) and Nitin Nabin (the BJP national president) in New Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday to talk about the West Bengal Chief Minister and the other positions in the cabinet.
This delay in announcing the Chief Minister is keeping different groups within the party hopeful. For the people who voted, knowing who the leader is and what jobs people will have in the government will show how the BJP are going to use their big win to decide what’s important for the state.
How the transition will unfold
Senior officials from the Election Commission, S B Joshi and Sujit Kumar Mishra, will arrive in Kolkata on May 5th to give Manoj Kumar Agarwal (the Chief Electoral Officer) the official results notification. The Chief Electoral Officer will then inform Governor RN Ravi on May 6th.
After being told this, the Governor will ask Mamata Banerjee (the current Chief Minister) to resign, and is expected to ask her to stay on as a temporary Chief Minister until the new government is sworn in.
Here are the key milestones ahead:
– May 5: EC officials deliver results notification.
– May 6: CEO briefs Governor RN Ravi.
– Governor invites Mamata Banerjee to resign.
– Caretaker arrangement continues till swearing-in.
– May 9: Oath-taking of the new Chief Minister.
– May 21: Re-poll in Falta.
The mandate behind the change
The BJP have beaten the Trinamool Congress, and won 206 of the 293 seats. The TMC only got 80 seats. There’s one more count to do in Rajarhat New Town, and the outcome there is still not certain.
Bengal voted in two parts on April 23rd and 29th, and over 92% of people voted. In Falta, there will be another election on May 21st because officials said there were ‘serious problems with the election and the democratic process being broken’.
What to expect next
At BJP headquarters after the result was known, the Prime Minister repeated a sentiment from Tagore, saying he would build a Bengal ‘where the mind is without fear and the head is held high’. Along with choosing May 9th for the swearing in, this shows what the new government will be aiming for.
Everyone is now concentrating on deciding who will be the leader and planning the cabinet. We’re expecting details of where the swearing in will be, and final confirmation of all the legal steps, very soon as the state gets ready for this important change in politics.
