From Dilip Ghosh to Agni Mitra Paul – What the BJP’s first West Bengal cabinet looked like

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal on Saturday.Prime Minister Narendra Modi The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan, as well as Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami.The Bharatiya Janata Party won 207 seats in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, while the Trinamool Congress secured 80 seats after ruling the state for 15 years.West Bengal recorded its highest voter turnout since independence with an impressive 91.66% turnout in the second phase of the assembly elections. The voting rate in the first phase was 93.19%, and the overall voting rate was 92.47%.The following is the list of ministers sworn in:Dilip GhoshDilip Ghosh is a veteran BJP leader and former state party president. He initially joined the RSS as a full-time Pracharak and after 2014, he played a key role in strengthening the BJP’s grassroots organization in West Bengal.He was a member of the Lok Sabha from Medinipur constituency and has been one of the key figures in the party’s political expansion in the state.Agnimitra PaulThere was only one woman in the cabinet of the first BJP government in West Bengal, 51-year-old Agnimitra Paul, who was sworn in as a minister along with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday.Paul, a two-time MLA from Asansol Dakshin and PPP Bengal vice-president, emerges as one of the party’s key female leaders during the 2026 assembly elections. She retained the seat defeating TMC’s Tapas Banerjee by over 40,000 votes, further consolidating her position in the state unit.Before entering politics in 2019, Paul was a household name in the Kolkata fashion world. She runs her own brand ‘Inga’ and designs clothes for celebrities like Sridevi and Hema Malini. Her work often showcases traditional Bengali crafts, including Kantha embroidery, and has been showcased at platforms such as Lakme Fashion Week.Born and raised in a middle-class family in Asansol, she studied botany before pursuing fashion technology and management. She later turned to politics, focusing on women’s empowerment and grassroots mobilization.Ashok KirtaniyaAshok Kirtania is a BJP MP representing Bangaon Uttar in North 24 Parganas, an area deeply affected by the politics of Matua in West Bengal.He has worked in the business community and has also been active in local organizational politics.Kshudiram TuduKshudiram Tudu is a tribal chief of Bankura district and represents the tribal-dominated Ranibandh constituency in Jungle Mahal district.The BJP relies on leaders like him to strengthen its influence among tribal communities in West Bengal.Nisis PramanikNisith Pramanik is one of the prominent young leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party from North Bengal.He was earlier associated with the Trinamool Congress party before joining the BJP in 2019.In July 2021, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Home Affairs and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Modi government, becoming one of the youngest ministers at only 35 years old.Pramanik represents the Rajbanshi community and the political base of North Bengal and is known for his strong youth appeal and organizational clout.The maximum size of the West Bengal Council of Ministers is 44, leaving room for the appointment of 39 new ministers.