Mamata Banerjee begins third straight term as West Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee took over as the chief Minister of West Bengal on Wednesday, beginning her third straight term. The function at Raj Bhavan was a low-key affair, coming as it is in the middle of a raging COVID-19 pandemic.

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Wearing her trademark white cotton saree, matching white face mask and Hawaii chappal, a confident Banerjee strode into the Raj Bhavan hall, had a word with media persons and then took the high chair next to Governor Jadgeep Dhankhar, who administered the oath of office at 10.45 am.

Trinamool Congress MP and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and other Trinamool leaders were among those present in the sparse audience.

The 66-year-old leader led her party Trinamool Congress to a spectacular win, bagging 213 seats in 294-member assembly, but lost her Nandigram seat to close aide-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. She needs to now get elected to the Assembly within six months. Speculation is that she may return to Bhabanipur, the seat she represented from 2011 to 2021.

Also read: Mamata Banerjee loses Nandigram, says will move court to expose ‘manipulations’

The high-stakes election was spread over a month and eight phases and saw some very vitriolic moments. Mamata Bnerjee’s Trinamool ended with a handsome 213 seats and the BJP, which had set out to bag 200 seats, settled at 77.