At least 43 members of the third cabinet of the Mamata Banerjee-government were on Monday sworn-in as ministers during a low-key ceremony at the Raj Bhawan, amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers.
Three TMC leaders Amit Mitra, Bratya Basu and Rathin Ghosh were sworn-in virtually. Mitra is unwell and both Basu and Ghosh are recuperating from COVID-19.
Other elected legislators like Partha Chatterjee, Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim and Sadhan Pande also took oath at the ceremony, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present along with other state government officials.
Banerjee is scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting at the secretariat later in the day, during which she is expected to allot portfolios to the ministers.
Those who were sworn-in include 24 cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state (independent charge).
Seventeen ministers from the previous term — including Gautam Deb, Rabindranath Ghosh, Purnendu Basu, Ashis Banerjee and Tapan Dasgupta — did not make the cut this time. Some among these 17 were not fielded in the elections, some others lost, a few won.
