Thirty five Ministers will be sworn into the West Bengal Cabinet on Monday (June 1, 2026) as a part of an expansion of the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The Chief Minister confirmed the Cabinet expansion with a social media post. “Tomorrow, a full-fledged Council of Ministers of the elected nationalist government will be formed by the verdict of the people of West Bengal. For the purpose of expanding the Council of Ministers, 35 Ministers of the West Bengal government will take their oaths,” he said.
After the landslide victory in the West Bengal Assembly polls, Mr. Adhikari and five other BJP MLAs — Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Nisith Pramanik and Kshudiram Tudu — were sworn in as Ministers by Governor R. N. Ravi on May 9.
With 35 more Ministers, the Cabinet strength (including the Chief Minister) will increase to 41. As per Article 164(1A) of the Constitution, the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State shall not exceed 15%.
West Bengal has 294 seats in the State Legislative Assembly and 15% of this number is 44. Therefore, the Council of Ministers can have a maximum of 44 members. The BJP has 208 MLA in the 294-member House.
Chief Minister Adhikari is likely to include senior party leaders like Tapas Roy, Sankar Ghosh and Swapan Dasgupta in his Cabinet. Former Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh and senior BJP leader Ritesh Tewari are also among other top contenders. Some women MLAs like Roopa Ganguly and Chandana Bauri may also be administered oath as Ministers.
Along with seniority, the BJP is likely to give considerations to regional and community-wise representations. The party will have to ensure that all communities like Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and women are represented in the first BJP Cabinet in the State. The Cabinet is likely to have to have representatives from north Bengal and southwest Bengal, something which most of the earlier governments in West Bengal have ignored.
Published - May 31, 2026 09:05 pm IST
Source: The Hindu - India News
