History was created in West Bengal on May 4 when the BJP government replaced the 15-year-old rule of the erstwhile Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. There were promises made in the manifesto that caught the attention of the public that wanted change, amongst other factors behind why they voted for the BJP.
The government did not waste time implementing policies and schemes and increasing the proposed amount. CM Suvendu Adhikari in a public meeting in Purulia district on Monday spoke about the success of his government and asked the people at large to judge the CM’s performance on the completion of one year in power.
“On May 9, 2027, I will complete one year in power. I will sit with you in an exam where you will give me marks. If I don’t get 9 on 10, then I will accept my shortcoming. But you will say, we took the right person and the right party,” said Adhikari, stressing on the faith people should have with the Centre-State association.
There was mention of the government health scheme with a ₹5 lakh insurance cover under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, where 1.23 crore people received cards on August 16.
1,240 private and 600 state government hospitals are empanelled under the scheme. ASHA and anganwadi workers will come under this scheme as well. The 2027 population census was also initiated by the present government which is currently underway, taking place after 2011. Adhikari also mentioned the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to replace the draconian Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Annapurna Bhandar scheme for rural women below the poverty line getting a monthly allowance of ₹3000 from the government was another success story mentioned by Adhikari. He explained that 28 lakh women have received their money in June, with the number set to increase to 1.29 crore in September.
The OBC list was also trimmed to 66 communities with 65 Muslim and 9 Hindu sub-groups from the list, bringing down the list from 113 sub-groups comprising 77 Muslim and 34 Hindu sub-groups previously. This followed a Calcutta High Court order that put a stay on increasing the OBC list from 66.
The CM spoke about transparency in the recruitment of School Service Commission (SSC), Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Police Recruitment Board through a written exam.
“By March 31, 2027, there will be one lakh recruitment of posts for teachers and the police with transparency,” added Adhikari.
The rural housing guarantee scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna and Paschim Banga Awas is another feather in the gap the CM boasted about, while adding that the money was returned by illegal beneficiaries from the TMC government’s time.
The CM also touched upon efforts towards development in North Bengal, including job creation being on the cards, which is why he has retained the portfolio of Home and Hill Affairs and allocated ₹50 crore for the Kurmi Development Board.
He had also promised jobs for the tribal community via the government and private jobs with industries like Shyam Steel and Amit Metalinks coming into the rural parts of West Bengal. Enhancing facilities in rural schools was also mentioned by Adhikari.
The BJP government was criticised for leaving eggs out of the mid-day meals provided by ISCKON. Adhikari clarified that eggs are now being given twice a week and that the budget was enhanced to ₹10 per student in government-run primary schools.
“2,45,000 students are availing of the mid-day meals in Kolkata. The opposition said the BJP will provide prasad, where are the eggs? We are providing nutritious food by ISKCON; we have provisioned for eggs twice a week. We have added Purulia in the next phase,” explained Adhikari, saying that ISCKON will be involved in the Purulia process too.
The CM also spoke about enhancing the amount in government hospitals to ₹110 per patient for three meals a day.
While the Suvendu Adhikari government can boast about initiatives taken by them, the government has also faced flak on other issues while being in power for 100 days.
The Baruipur gangrape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in the South 24 Parganas district in June was followed by the Opposition questioning the safety of women in the state.
Four people were arrested in the case, but the death of prime-accused Prabhas Mondol in police encounter was reason enough for Opposition parties like the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and Left Front to question whether West Bengal was turning into Uttar Pradesh 2.0.
The custodial death of TMC worker Birju Keot in Halisahar in the South 24 Parganas district earlier this month, who was arrested on charges of extortion and under provisions of the Arms Act, questioned the present government’s intentions with Adhikari also being the Home Minister in charge of handling the police department.
The Mamata Banerjee faction cried foul after the TMC supremo’s car was attacked with mud and stones on the way to Halisahar to meet the victim’s family. Adhikari went the next day to meet the family and announced the suspension of the Officer In-charge of the local police station, a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the family from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, and a job for the victim’s wife.
Pre-empting another RG rape and murder case, the Adhikari government constituted a probe committee initiated by health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee into the death of a 30-year old on-duty nurse. The nurse was found dead last week inside the toilet of the government-run Nil Ratan Sarkar Hospital while her family was informed the same night and postmortem carried out as per the family’s wishes.
Apart from the Opposition parties, Adhikari and other BJP leaders also paid their respects to former TMC MLA Asish Banerjee, who had been found hanging inside the party office in Birbhum’s district Rampurhat on Sunday.
A suicide note was left behind, stating he was not involved in corruption and regretted joining politics. The Mamata faction alleged that pressure was placed on the deceased MLA to join the rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee. Adhikari, on the other hand, asked police to probe phone records of the former MLA to ascertain whether there were corrupt individuals within TMC intimidating Asish Banerjee.
Adhikari also addressed the issue of the 50-year-old father of Abdul Hafiz, a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporter who succumbed to injuries on Saturday night in the Bankura district.
Miscreants allegedly backed by the BJP barged into his house on Thursday as they were allegedly angry at Hafiz portraying the dismal state of schools on video. The miscreants allegedly prevented Hafiz from taking his father Sheikh Mohammad Mafik to hospital for two hours and assaulted them even after the hospital visit.
Adhikari condemned the incident but denied the BJP’s involvement in it. A CJP team visited the family and has given the Bengal government 10 days' time to arrest all accused, or have promised to gherao the district administration office and stage a larger protest.
Masked in efficient governance is the reality of the challenges that have gone against the Suvendu Adhikari government, for which there have been face-saving efforts. The promptness of addressing issues appears to be going in the government’s favour. However, in the months to come, whether these measures will be enough to convince the public of effective action being taken is another debate.
