People celebrate with sweets and colour as ‘Kanthi’s son’ takes oath in Bengal

Kanthi, the hometown of Suvendu Adhikari in Purba Medinipur district, erupted in joy on Saturday (May 9) as he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. His parents and relatives thanked the people of the State for choosing “Kanthi’s son” for the top post.

As Mr. Adhikari took oath, his father Sisir Adhikari said his son was the “correct choice” made by the people of the State, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the BJP. “Medinipur has always made a massive contribution to the State’s politics. My son has overcome many hurdles and led many movements. He is our pillar of support,” said Mr. Sisir, a veteran politician. He said his son should serve the people whole-heartedly and focus on the development and growth of the State. 

Massive celebrations were seen in Kanthi as local residents, neighbours and relatives of Mr. Adhikari came out on the streets. Locals played with colours, had sweets, chanted “Jai Shri Ram” slogans and blew conch shells. “Our dream has finally come true. We cannot describe our pride in words,” a neighbour said. 

Speaking to mediapersons, Gayatri Adhikari, mother of Mr. Adhikari, said: “I am very happy, but the people of Bengal are happier than me. He has fought a lot in the last five years and reached here.” She asked her son to work for the poor and take steps to curb atrocities against women. 

Family stronghold

The 57-year-old BJP leader comes from a family of politicians. His father Sisir Adhikari started his political career in the Congress. He served as the Union Minister of State for Rural Development during the second United Progressive Alliance government and was the MP of the Kanthi Lok Sabha seat between 2009 and 2024. His two brothers, Dibyendu Adhikari and Soumendu Adhikari, are also active in politics. Together, the four members of the family have represented the Kanthi Lok Sabha constituency and the Kanthi Dakshin Assembly constituency for decades.  

It is after almost six decades that the State has got a Chief Minister from the rural heartland. The last four CMs – the Congress’s Siddhartha Shankar Ray, the CPI(M)’s Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, and Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee — hailed from Kolkata. 

As Mr. Adhikari was sworn in on Sunday afternoon, BJP supporters held celebrations outside Ms. Banerjee’s house and were seen chanting chor, chor” (thief, thief).