Mamata Banerjee takes oath as West Bengal CM for third consecutive time

Kolkata, May 05: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee took oath as the chief minister of West Bengal for her third consecutive term after emerging victorious in the high-stakes West Bengal Assembly elections on May 2. Banerjee took the oath in Bengali language.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar administered her the oath of office and secrecy at a low-key ceremony at Raj Bhawan held amid the raging COVID pandemic.

Apart from senior TMC leaders like Partha Chatterjee and Subrata Mukherjee, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who played a key role in TMC''s victory, and Banerjee MP nephew Abhishek Banerjee were present.

Banerjee has said her first priority after resuming office will be to tackle the COVID-19 situation.

The TMC came to power for the third time in a row in West Bengal, pocketing 213 of the 292 assembly seats that went to polls, while its main challenger, the BJP, bagged 77 seats.