Adhikari's Power Play: 35 MLAs Sworn In as Bengal Cabinet Expands to 41

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari expanded his cabinet on Monday as 35 BJP legislators were sworn in as ministers by Governor RN Ravi at Lok Bhavan in Kolkata. With this, the total strength of the council of ministers rose to 41 , just three short of the maximum permissible limit of 44 for the 294 member Assembly.

The expansion marks the first major reshuffle since the formation of the BJP led government in West Bengal . Of the 35 MLAs inducted, 13 were sworn in as cabinet ministers , three as Ministers of State with independent charge, and 19 as Ministers of State. The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Adhikari, existing ministers and senior officials.

Among those inducted as cabinet ministers were Swapan Dasgupta, Arjun Singh, Ashok Dinda, Tapas Roy, Shankar Ghosh, Dudh Kumar Mondal, Deepak Burman, Manoj Oraon, Gouri Shankar Ghosh, Saradwat Mukherjee and Jagannath Chattopadhyay. Rajesh Mahata, Indranil Khan and Malati Rava Roy took oath as Ministers of State with independent charge.

Other MLAs were sworn in as Ministers of State , including Santanu Pramanik, Purnima Chakraborty, Umesh Rai, Joyel Murmu, Ashok Dinda, Anandamoy Burman, Kaushik Chowdhury, Gargi Das Ghosh, Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Dibakar Gharami and Sumana Sarkar.

Officials said the expansion is aimed at improving administrative representation across regions and social groups . The cabinet is expected to reflect wider regional and community representation within the state.

The expansion comes three weeks after Adhikari was sworn in as Chief Minister on May 9 at a ceremony held at Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah . On that occasion, senior leaders including Dilip Ghosh , Agnimitra Paul , Nisith Pramanik , Ashok Kirtania and Kshudiram Tudu had taken oath.

The latest induction follows a series of meetings held in New Delhi between Adhikari, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya , and the party’s central leadership, where the list of ministers was finalised.

The expansion comes after the BJP secured 208 seats in the 294 member Assembly , ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15 year rule and forming the government in the state.