Swapan Dasgupta gets finance portfolio in Bengal BJP govt; details here

Columnist and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta has been entrusted with the key finance portfolio in the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The allocation of portfolios for all 41 ministers was notified by the state government on Wednesday, completing the formation of the state's first BJP administration after the party ended the Trinamool Congress' 15-year rule in the Assembly elections held in April.

Dasgupta, who won the Rashbehari Assembly seat, is among 19 Cabinet ministers in the new government. His appointment as finance minister places the veteran political commentator and public intellectual at the center of the state's fiscal and economic policymaking.

The 41-member Council of Ministers comprises 19 Cabinet ministers, three Ministers of State with independent charge and 19 Ministers of State. Six ministers, including Chief Minister Adhikari, took oath on May 9, coinciding with Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary, while the remaining 35 ministers were sworn in on June 1.

Apart from heading the government, Adhikari has retained several important portfolios, including Home and Hill Affairs, Land and Land Reforms and Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation, Power, Information and Cultural Affairs, Personnel and Administrative Reforms, besides departments that have not been allocated to any minister.

Former Union minister Nishith Pramanik has been given charge of the North Bengal Development and Water Resources departments. Former West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh will oversee Panchayats, Rural Development and Agricultural Marketing.

Senior BJP leader Agnimitra Paul has been assigned the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs portfolio. In an earlier notification, she had also been given charge of Women and Child Development, but the revised list limits her responsibilities to urban development.

Former Trinamool Congress leader Tapas Roy, who joined the BJP before the elections, has been appointed Industries Minister.

Among other Cabinet appointments, former school headmaster Dipak Burman has been given the School Education department, while journalist-turned-politician Jagannath Chattopadhyay will head Higher Education. Dudh Kumar Mondal has been entrusted with the Agriculture portfolio.

Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh, who switched from the CPM to the BJP in 2021, has been assigned Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism. Former MP Arjun Singh will oversee the Labour and Transport ministries.

Bidhannagar MLA Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee, an oncologist who attracted attention during the election campaign, has been appointed Health and Family Welfare Minister.

Among the Ministers of State with independent charge, doctor and BJP leader Indranil Khan will head Youth Services and Sports as well as Consumer Affairs. Tufanganj MLA Malati Rava Roy, who has links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), will oversee Women and Child Development, Social Welfare and self-help groups.

The new government also includes several first-time ministers from diverse backgrounds. Former India cricketer Ashok Dinda has been made Minister of State for Agricultural Marketing, MSMEs and Textiles, while Kalita Maji, who once worked as a domestic help before entering politics, has been appointed Minister of State for Housing.

With the portfolio allocation complete, the BJP government under Adhikari is set to begin implementing its agenda, with Swapan Dasgupta expected to play a crucial role in shaping West Bengal's financial and economic priorities.