Regional, caste calculus in BJP’s West Bengal Cabinet choices

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 09, 2026 08:14 pm IST - KOLKATA Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and members of the cabinet of the West Bengal government, in Kolkata on Saturday (May 9, 2026). | Photo Credit: ANI The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has weighed regional and community considerations while allocating ministerial berths in its first Cabinet in West Bengal. Along with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, five other MLAs were administered the oath of office and secrecy by West Bengal Governor R.N. Ravi on Saturday (May 9, 2026). The new Ministers — Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu, and Nisith Pramanik — represent different regions and different caste combinations aimed at social and geographic balance. Mr. Adhikari is a Brahmin, Mr. Ghosh hails from the OBC community, Ms. Paul is a Kayastha, Mr. Kirtania is a prominent Matua face, and Mr. Tudu represents the tribal belt of Junglemahal. Mr. Pramanik is seen as an influential Rajbanshi leader from north Bengal. Mr. Ghosh, who was elected from Kharagpur Sadar, is a former West Bengal BJP president and one of the most vocal party leaders in the State. Under his leadership, the BJP had won 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. A fashion designer turned politician, Ms. Paul is a prominent woman face of the BJP and had become the party’s voice both inside and outside the State Assembky from 2021 to 2016. She has been re-elected from the Asansol Dakshin Assembly seat. Mr. Kirtania, who has been elected from Bongaon Uttar, is a representative of the Matuas, a community of Hindu namasudras which has overwhelmingly supported the BJP. All these Ministers represent South Bengal. As the tribal face in the State Cabinet, Mr. Tudu took his oath in the Santali language. He was elected from Ranibandh in the Bankura district. Mr. Pramanik, who was the Cooch Behar MP from 2019 to 2024, won the Assembly election from Mathabhanga and is the Cabinet’s only face from North Bengal. Article (164(1A) of the Constitution mandates that the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, cannot exceed 15% of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly As there are 294 seats in the West Bengal Assembly, the highest number of Ministers that can be appointed is 44. There is a lot of scope of expansion of the Council of Ministers, but a decision will be taken after the swearing-in of all the newly elected MLAs. While the BJP legislature party has appointed its Chief Minister and five other Ministers, the Trinamool Congress legislature party is yet to announce the Leader of Opposition. Ballygunge MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay is being considered a front runner for the post. The BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member House ending the 15-year rule of the Trinamool Congress and reducing it just 80 seats. West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 / Bengal / Bharatiya Janata Party Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Regional, caste calculus in BJP’s West Bengal Cabinet choices

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Regional, caste calculus in BJP’s West Bengal Cabinet choices

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