Suvendu Adhikari takes oath as Bengal Chief Minister (Express Photo by Partha Paul). 4 min read May 9, 2026 04:59 PM IST First published on: May 9, 2026 at 04:59 PM IST The ideological and political divide between successive governments in West Bengal over the past 49 years and the ruling regimes and shaky coalitions at the Centre has ended. The swearing-in of Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and five ministers, under the approving eye of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of BJP leaders, marks the start of the “double engine sarkar” model that has been successfully sold to voters across most of North India, from Gangotri to Gangasagar. The template of how the BJP runs its governments across India is known. The signs are already evident. The police and obviously the party’s managers have stepped in to defuse a potential problem, after reports emerged of women students being told that they will not be allowed to wear a burqa.…