‘I bow to West Bengal Jana Shakti’: PM Modi kowtows in front of Kolkata crowd as BJP forms first government

Posting the video onAnother emotional moment from the event was when Prime Minister Modi embraced 98-year-old BJP veteran Makhanlal Sarkar and sought his blessings. The prime minister also touched Sarkar’s feet and exchanged pleasantries with senior leaders on the stage.Sharing another interactive video on No effort will be spared to realize his vision. ““Had the opportunity to meet Shri Makhanlal Sarkar during the swearing-in ceremony in Kolkata Ji. He was a devout nationalist who worked with Dr Mukherjee and was even arrested in Jammu and Kashmir while accompanying him. He dedicated his life to our party, expanding its base in West Bengal and inspiring people from all walks of life to join the party. We in the BJP are proud to have such inspiring personalities who work among the people and strengthen our party,” he added.Sarkar, a resident of Siliguri, is considered one of the earliest grassroots leaders of the BJP in West Bengal and worked closely with Sharma Prasad Mukherjee during the party’s formative years.In 1952, he was arrested in Kashmir while accompanying Mukherjee to a campaign to hoist the Indian tricolor flag.The BJP won 207 seats in the 2026 assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress party’s 15-year rule in the state, and Adhikari was sworn in as Bengal’s first BJP chief minister. TMC got 80 seats.Adhikari, who hails from Babanipur and Nandigram, was sworn in first, followed by senior BJP leader and former state unit chief Dilip Ghosh, who was appointed to the cabinet. BJP MPs Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Kshudiram Tudu and Nisith Pramanik were also sworn in as ministers.West Bengal also recorded one of its highest ever voter turnout, with poll turnout exceeding 92% in the first two phases of elections.