Suvendu Adhikari takes oath as West Bengal CM

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the Chief Minister of West Bengal on Saturday. He is leading the party’s first government in the eastern state after a massive election victory.

Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office at a ceremony in Kolkata, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and senior BJP leaders.

The election saw Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) end the 15-year rule of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) party.

The governor dissolved the state assembly on Thursday after Banerjee refused to resign following her party’s election defeat, accusing the BJP of irregularities.

“I am not defeated…I will not resign,” Banerjee said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Critics have alleged that the massive deletion of voters’ names after a month-long special intensive vetting (SIR) process paved the way for the BJP.

In the 294-member assembly, BJP won 207 seats, while TMC won 80 seats.

Adhikari is a former minister in the Banerjee government and his father was a Union minister under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay’s TVK party, which was on track to form the next government on Friday after days of uncertainty, is back to building numbers to claim power.

The last five days have seen an intense political tug-of-war after Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) failed to immediately convert his sweeping election victory into government formation.

Governor Rajendra Arlekar said the party has not shown the required majority support to claim power. Despite precedents to the contrary, the Governor said it was “essential” to prove majority support for government formation.

On Friday, three parties – Viduthalai Chiruthigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and Communist Party of India (CPI) – were reported to have extended support to TVK, giving the party the required numbers to form the government.

However, as of Saturday, there was still uncertainty about the alleged endorsement.

What do the numbers say?

• Seats in Tamil Nadu Assembly: 243
• Seats won by newcomer TVK: 108
• Seats required to form government: 118
• TVK seats with support from Congress Party: 113

Meanwhile, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran alleged that the support letter of his party MLA has been forged by TVK.

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I’m Shakeel from DW’s New Delhi studio, bringing you the latest news from across India.

You might think that the political tussle would calm down over the weekend, but that’s not the case. In Tamil Nadu, Vijay is working on building numerical strength for his TVK party to claim power.

With the swearing in of new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, BJP is strengthening its dominance in West Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the recent gang rape incidents in Bihar have raised questions over the law and order situation in the state.

For all this and more, stay tuned to our India Live blog.