Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal Chief Minister for third time

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar administered her the oath of office and secrecy at a low-key ceremony at Raj Bhavan held amid the raging COVID pandemic.

Banerjee took the oath in Bengali language.

She is the 21st chief minister of West Bengal and 8th person to hold the office. Banerjee alone was sworn-in on Wednesday and her cabinet will be expanded with the induction of other ministers on May 9, the birth anniversary of Bengali cultural icon nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

BJP party president J P Nadda and state unit chief Dilip Ghosh were present. Apart from senior TMC leaders like Partha Chatterjee and Subrata Mukherjee, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who played a key role in TMC's victory, and Banerjee MP nephew Abhishek Banerjee were present. Leaders of opposition parties including the BJP, the Left and the Congress did not attend the ceremony.

"Our first priority is to control the COVID situation," she said after taking the oath. Banerjee said she will hold a meeting on the pandemic situation at state secretariat Nabanna soon after leaving Raj Bhavan.

She urged all political parties to help maintain peace and order.