Kolkata: In his first speech after his name was announced as the leader of the BJP’s legislative party and Chief Minister of the first BJP-ruled government in West Bengal since Independence, Suvendu Adhikari stressed running the new state administration on a collective leadership basis instead of monopolising the decision-making process of the state Cabinet.
“It will not be I who will be running the new government. We will run the new government,” Adhikari said in his address at a meeting on Friday.
The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by the newly elected 2027 Bharatiya Janata Party legislators, during which his name was unanimously selected as the new leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly and, hence, as the next Chief Minister.
Political observers feel that through this message of “collective leadership”, Adhikari also gave a subtle message that the new state Cabinet led by him will not operate in the same fashion as the previous Cabinet led by his predecessor, Mamata Banerjee, where every administrative decision, major or minor, could not be passed without her concurrence.
In his short speech, Adhikari also outlined the priorities of the new state Cabinet.
“Tracking and taking legal action against those involved in corruption and wastage of public money, ensuring justice for those who had been subjected to grave injustice and atrocities during the last 15 years, and ensuring better and corruption-free public service will be our priority,” Adhikari said.
Earlier, addressing the meeting, the Union Home Minister reminded all the 207 elected party legislators that they should ensure the huge faith with which the people of West Bengal ensured the landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently concluded West Bengal polls is not broken.
“There was an atmosphere of fear here during Mamata Banerjee’s rule. But despite that, I am grateful to the people of West Bengal for the victory they gave us by trusting our leaders,” Shah said.
He said he wanted to tell party leaders to make every effort to fulfil the aspirations of the people who had brought them to power.
“Don’t let the trust be broken. This is the duty of all of you. We have to ensure that we give our best to the people of West Bengal,” Shah added.
(IANS)
