KOLKATA: PM Modi will return to Kolkata, as promised, to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected BJP govt at Brigade Parade Ground at 10 am on May 9, Rabindra Jayanti. Accompanying the PM on stage will be home minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin and the chief ministers of all NDA-governed states. Shah is scheduled to arrive in Kolkata on Friday to attend a meeting of BJP legislators at 4 pm and pick the new chief minister. Suvendu Adhikari, who has now defeated Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee twice at the hustings, is the frontrunner among the probables. A tribal MLA from north Bengal and a “bhadralok” MLA from the urban pockets of south Bengal are being considered for the deputy CM’s post. The last time Bengal had a deputy CM was in 2000, when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was made one under the then CM, Jyoti Basu. On Wednesday, preparations for the swearing-in ceremony began at the Brigade Parade Ground, with senior officers reviewing the ground layout. State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya reached state secretariat Nabanna to discuss the details with the chief secretary and home secretary. “Shah will meet BJP MLA on May 8. The leader of the legislature party will be announced there,” Bhattacharya said. Party seniors said the meeting is likely to be held at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre. “We want to accommodate as many veteran workers as possible, and we will look to have the right mix of experienced and new candidates,” said a BJP senior in New Delhi. Bhattacharya added the state secretariat will eventually shift back to Writers’ Buildings. “We had promised this in 2021.” Sources said a large number of party seniors, celebrities and Padma awardees would be invited to the swearing-in.
