New Delhi: PM Modi touched the feet of a nonagenarian BJP member and then knelt down in gratitude to the surging crowd at the Brigade Ground, with an image of Goddess Durga as the backdrop on the stage, and CM Suvendu Adhikari wearing a gerua (saffron) kurta – The swearing-in of the BJP’s first government in West Bengal was marked by a mix of symbolism.If the Bengal Assembly elections wrote history, the BJP made great efforts to acknowledge the elements involved in the making of this history during the swearing-in of its first government. The emotional importance of this moment was visible. After taking the oath, Suvendu bowed to Modi, who dislikes people touching his feet, and sat in a crouched posture for a while, while the PM folded his hands with one hand and patted his back with the other, smiling. He held her tightly as the crowd roared.Suvendu made a similar gesture, albeit briefly, amid the line-up of dignitaries, to Home Minister Amit Shah, who was central to the BJP’s victory strategy. Since he left TMC to join BJP in 2020 in Shah’s presence, the Home Minister has supported him to lead the BJP’s grassroots resistance against the Mamata Banerjee government despite occasional resentment from older leaders of the organisation. A belief that bore fruit.But the milestone event was also an opportunity to acknowledge the veterans’ long hard work. Former RSS pracharak and former state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, who sometimes felt hard-pressed after the emergence of a new generation of leaders, was the first minister to take oath after Suvendu, symbolizing his decades-long dedication to the saffron cause. Modi also met family members of some BJP members killed in alleged political violence over the decades. BJP’s choice of five ministers confirms the party’s diverse social and regional support in the elections. While Suvendu is a Brahmin, Ghosh is an OBC, Ashok Kirtaniya, Kshudiram Tudu and Nishit Pramanik come from Matua, Adivasi and Rajbanshi communities. The only female member is Agnimitra Paul Kayastha. With the BJP having no Muslim MLAs and no Legislative Council in the state, any Muslim representation in the government appears remote, which could be the first example of the community finding no place in the Bengal government. Criticized by the TMC as outsiders indifferent to the Bengali ethos, the BJP decided to organize the event on Tagore’s birth anniversary and the stage was decorated with the Bengali polymath’s photograph.