BJP's first govt in Bengal to take oath on May 9; Modi, Shah, Nabin to attend

The BJP is set to form its first government in West Bengal, with the oath-taking ceremony scheduled for May 9, marking a significant shift in the state's political landscape.

IMAGE: BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari leaves from his residence, in East Medinipur, May 6, 2026. Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points

A meeting of the newly elected BJP MLAs has been convened on May 8 evening, party sources said.
The swearing-in ceremony coincides with Rabindra Jayanti, adding cultural significance.
The BJP aims to embed its rise within Bengal's cultural identity.

The oath-taking ceremony of the first Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal will be held at Brigade Parade Ground here on May 9, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya announced on Wednesday, as the saffron camp prepared to formally assume power after ending the Trinamool Congress' 15-year rule in the state.

The ceremony, scheduled to begin at 10 am, is expected to witness the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin and several union ministers, party sources said.

"The new BJP government will take oath on May 9 at 10 am at Brigade Parade Ground," Bhattacharya told reporters.

Significantly, the swearing-in ceremony will be held on the 25th day of Baisakh in the Bengali calendar--observed across the state as Rabindra Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore-- lending the event a layer of cultural symbolism.

According to state BJP sources, the choice of the date is being seen in political circles as an attempt by the BJP to embed its historic rise within Bengal's cultural imagination and counter the TMC's long-standing portrayal of the saffron party as a "party of outsiders" disconnected from Bengal's linguistic and intellectual ethos.

A meeting of the newly elected BJP MLAs has been convened on May 8 evening, party sources said, though the leadership remained tight-lipped over the chief ministerial face.

The BJP secured a landslide victory in the recently concluded assembly elections, paving the way for its first-ever government in Bengal after years of organisational expansion and sharp ideological polarisation.