KOLKATA: The West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Suvendu Adhikari on Monday allocated departments among the five ministers Dilip Ghosh, Agnimita Paul, Nisith Pramanik, Ashoke Kirtania and Kshudiram Tudu in his cabinet.
They had taken an oath along with him before the governor R N Ravi at the Brigade Parade Grounds in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9.
Interestingly, no post of deputy CM has been created so far in Suvendu’s newly formed cabinet.
Dilip Ghosh, MLA from Kharagpur Sadar and former Bengal BJP president, has been given the rural development department, while Agnimitra Paul, another senior MLA from Asansol South constituency, will look after the women development and municipal affairs and urban development departments.
Ashok Kirtania, a legislator from Bagda seat, who belongs to the Matua community, got the state food department, and Kshudiram Tudu, who was elected from the tribal-dominated Ranibandh in Bankura, will head the Adivasi development affairs.
Suvendu will look after the remaining departments like home, finance, health, agriculture, information and cultural affairs, etc., till other MLAs, who will be selected for ministerial berths in his cabinet, take oaths.
A BJP insider felt that the Deputy CM post exists in states ruled by the BJP-led NDA partners.
However, in West Bengal, the BJP has formed the government alone.
The CM also held meetings with his party MLAs at the Nabanna conference hall today and alerted them, saying, “Any kind of illegal encroachments on government lands will be tolerated.”
BJP secured a landslide victory by winning 207 out of 294 seats in the Bengal assembly elections.