Once an academician, now a politician Dr (Prof) Sukanta Majumdar has hit the jackpot in the saffron brigade barely five years after switching over to full time politics, with his elevation as one of the 72 ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet.
Majumdar was sworn in along with 71 other of his colleagues in a grand ceremony on Sunday evening.
A pick of Mukul Roy, former No 2 of TMC, Majumdar, who was long associated with the RSS, first fought election in 2019 on BJP ticket and emerged winner in the Balurghat Lok Sabha seat in north Bengal and retained the seat even in a topsy-turvy contest in 2024.
In 2021 he was elevated to BJP’s state president position replacing Dilip Ghosh and since then he has been propagating the BJP policy in tandem with Suvendu Adhikari. But BJP’s aspiration to win 30 seats remained elusive as they were reduced to 12 in 2024 from 18 five years ago.
“Deeply grateful for your warm wishes and greetings. Your warm wishes empower us to work towards a Viksit Bharat and a Viksit West Bengal under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi”, 44-year-old Majumdar said on Monday. And he immediately began as one of the ministerial colleagues thanking the PM for signing the release of the 17th instalment of PM Kisan Nidhi.
“Thank you, PM @narendramodi for this impactful decision to support our farmers! The Honorable PM signed his first file, approving the release of the 17th installment of PM Kisan Nidhi. This will benefit 9.3 crore farmers and distribute approximately Rs 20,000 crore,” Majumdar posted on his X handle on Monday.
Majumdar’s elevation to the union ministry means the BJP has to find out a new party president in Bengal as the state goes to the assembly poll in 2026.
