Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as West Bengal chief minister for the third straight term today after she spearheaded her party to a remarkable victory in the assembly polls. Banerjee said her first priority would be to tackle Covid and also appealed to people to maintain peace.
The ceremony was a low-key programme given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. The ceremony comes amid mounting pressure on the TMC government over the post-poll violence that claimed at least 14 lives in two days. Banerjee has asked the administration to control the violence at the earliest. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and the Union Home Ministry seeking a report from its state counterpart. BJP president J P Nadda also met families of the victims. Earlier Monday, Banerjee addressed a press conference where she spoke of a “collective fight” by the opposition against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but underscored combating the Covid-19 crisis should be the first priority. Banerjee, who lost from Nandigram despite the astounding TMC victory, can be sworn-in as the chief minister but will have to get elected to the assembly within six months of assuming office.
