Kolkata, May 8: West Bengal chief minister-designate Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said the first BJP government in the state would fulfil all promises made in the party’s election manifesto and work in coordination with the Centre to realise the aspirations of the people.
Addressing party legislators after being elected the leader of the BJP legislature party, Adhikari said the atmosphere of fear in Bengal had ended and asserted that the state would now move towards an era of “trust”.
“Bhoi is out and, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has said, bharosa is in,” Adhikari said amid loud cheers from party MLAs and supporters.
The senior BJP leader was earlier in the day unanimously elected the leader of the BJP legislature party in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the party’s top state leadership, paving the way for him to become the first BJP chief minister of West Bengal.
“The people of Bengal have given us a historic mandate. We will fulfil all the promises made in the BJP’s poll manifesto in Bengal,” Adhikari said.
He also stressed the need for coordination between the Centre and the incoming BJP government in the state.
“Let the Centre and the state work together to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Bengal,” he said.
Shah formally announced Adhikari’s election after a meeting of the newly elected BJP MLAs and senior party leaders here.
Describing the process as a unanimous endorsement by the legislators, the Union home minister said eight proposals were received for the post of the legislature party leader, and all carried only Adhikari’s name.
“Enough time was given for a second name, but no other proposal came. Therefore, I announce Suvendu Adhikari as the chief minister of West Bengal,” Shah said after the meeting.
Adhikari, one of the principal architects of the BJP’s rise in Bengal, is set to be sworn in as the ninth chief minister of the state at a grand ceremony at Brigade Parade Ground here on Saturday morning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and several senior BJP leaders are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony, party sources said.
The BJP’s victory in the assembly polls has ended the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule in the state and marked the saffron party’s first ascent to power in West Bengal.(PTI)
