New Delhi, May 9 -- In a watershed moment in West Bengal politics, Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the state's first BJP chief minister on Saturday at the Brigade Parade Ground, a vast green expanse in the heart of Kolkata that has been prepped up for the saffron coronation.

Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Adhikari at a grand ceremony held at the Brigade Parade Grounds here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers, chief ministers of NDA-ruled states and senior BJP leaders.

Opening a new chapter in Bengal politics, the BJP marched to power in the state for the first time with 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending the 15-year rule of the TMC, which was reduced to just 80.

Suve...