West Bengal Cabinet expansion: Swapan Dasgupta gets finance, Tapas Roy industries

Ten days after the swearing in of the extended Cabinet of the BJP-led government in West Bengal, portfolios were allocated among the ministers on Wednesday, with senior leader Tapas Roy named the industries minister and journalist-turned-politician, Swapan Dasgupta, getting the finance department.

According to a notification issued by the state home department and signed by Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, BJP MLA from Bidhannagar, Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee, was named the health minister.

Another journalist-turned-politician, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, who won the Suri Assembly seat in Birbhum district, was given the responsibility of the state's higher education department.

BJP leader from Birbhum, Dudh Kumar Mondal, was named the agriculture minister, while the north Bengal leader from Falakata in Alipurduar district, Dipak Barman, was put in charge of the state school education department.

Among the other significant portfolios, tourism and parliamentary affairs went to Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh, while the charge of labour and transport departments went to Noapara MLA Arjun Singh.

Ministers of state with independent charge, Indranil Khan, named sports and youth, and consumer affairs minister, while the BJP's Cooch Behar district leader, Malati Rava Roy, was allocated the Women and Child Development department.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in on May 9 along with five Cabinet ministers—Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Nisith Pramanik, and Kshudiram Tudu. They have already been assigned the charge of departments.

On June 1, the state Cabinet underwent a significant expansion, with Governor R N Ravi inducting 35 more ministers, of which 13 were Cabinet Ministers and 22 Ministers of State, including three with Independent Charge.

With this expansion, the total strength of the ministerial council rose to 41.