Mamata Banerjee won a landslide victory in the Bengal election to secure a third straight term.
New Delhi:
Mamata Banerjee will be sworn in as Bengal Chief Minister for the third time in what is pitched as a low-key ceremony at the Governor’s House in Kolkata in the shadow of Covid and post-poll violence in parts of the state.
Only Mamata Banerjee will be sworn in today, her party says. The rest of the cabinet and the council of ministers will be sworn in on May 9, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
Invites have gone to cricket legend Sourav Ganguly and former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee – who is unlikely to attend as he is unwell. Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, and party leader Firhad Hakim are also likely to be present.
The oath ceremony will take place with Covid protocols in place at the “Throne Room” at the Raj Bhavan, says Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
Mamata Banerjee won a landslide victory in the Bengal election to secure a third straight term. The Trinamool won 213 of 292 seats while its strongest rival, BJP, finished second with 77 seats.
After being sworn in by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, Mamata Banerjee will head to her office Nabanna, where she will be given a guard of honour by the Kolkata Police.
She is expected to start her new term with a meeting with top officials on the Covid situation and law and order in the state.
Since the election verdict on Sunday, there have been clashes involving both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Both parties have traded blame for the violence.
Mamata Banerjee yesterday told NDTV she believed the BJP was trying to stir trouble in the state after its defeat. “It is their baby. They have spoiled the situation. Some sporadic incidents are there, but that will be tackled. After election, it happens in every state. I don’t want any violence or anything. BJP is trying to create communal clash, because of their shameful defeat,” she said, insisting that she had been telling her supporters to stay indoors and not celebrate at all.