PM Modi pays tribute to Rabindranath Tagore at Brigade Parade Grounds ahead of Suvendu Adhikari's swearing-in

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on the occasion of Pochishe Boishakh. At the Brigade Parade Grounds, PM offered flowers at the image of ‘Bard of Bengal’ on Saturday. He visited Kolkata to attend the swearing-in ceremony of West Bengal chief minister.

BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and CM-elect Suvendu Adhikari accompanied PM Modi. Suvendu Adhikari is set to take oath as the first-ever BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal on 9 May, marking a landmark political shift in the state. This is a historic moment as it marks the time a BJP leader will be sworn in West Bengal.

PM Modi entered the venue on an open vehicle as the crowd chanted 'Jay Shri Ram' slogan. He received warm welcome at the venue where thousands of BJP supporters have gathered to witness the oath-taking ceremony. Governor RN Ravi is set to administer oath of office to Suvendu Adhikari.

To mark the poet's birth anniversary, in a post on X, he wrote, “May his thoughts continue to illuminate minds and guide us in our endeavours.”

The Prime Minister said the poet, philosopher and educationist enriched Indian society with creative energy, cultural confidence and profound thought as he called Tagore a “timeless voice of India's civilisational soul.”

PM Modi arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport around 10:00 am and took a helicopter to reach the Race Course ground before proceeding by road to the venue. The BJP secured a landslide victory in assembly polls by securing 207 seats in the 294-member house, ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule in the state.

All you need to know about Suvendhu Adhikari

Suvendu Adhikari was born in 1970 in Purba Medinipur district. A descendant of one of Bengal's most influential political families, he initially became a major political force in Nandigram town. Much before joining BJP, he became a known name through the Congress party but later joined the TMC during its years as an anti-Left force.

Aged 55, a leader rooted in local networks and street-level politics, he is the most recognisable face in the state who was elected on 8 May as the saffron party's legislative party leader in West Bengal.

After a party meeting in Kolkata on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced Adhikari as the party's leader. The leader of the opposition in the previous Bengal assembly, he emerged as a giant slayer after he won the 2026 assembly election from two seats – Nandigram and Bhabanipur. He defeated TMC chief and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur by a margin of 15,105 votes.

Suvendu Adhikari has declared a net worth of ₹85.87 lakh, including ₹24.57 lakh in movable assets and ₹61.30 lakh in immovable assets, in the election affidavit filed before contesting the West Bengal Election 2026. Adhikari mentioned that he has cash in hand of ₹12,000 and doesn't own a car or any other private vehicle in the affidavit under movable assets. In the jewellery column too, Adhikari has declared ‘nil’.

He declared that he has bank deposits in PNB, SBI, Axis Bank, IDBI Bank, and several cooperative banks in Contai and Nandigram, adding up to ₹7.34 lakh across 14 accounts.