Calcutta, Jan. 18: M.K. Narayanan will be sworn in as Bengal governor on January 24, chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said today.

Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Mohit Shantilal Shah will administer the oath of of-fice and secrecy to the new in- cumbent.

The ceremony, to be followed by a high tea, will take place in the Throne Room of the Raj Bhavan in Calcutta.

A state official said the swearing-in would be held at 4pm. It has to be in the afternoon because chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his cabinet will be at a condolence meeting on Jyoti Basu in the morning.

A Raj Bhavan official said acting governor Devanand Konwar was expected to leave the city on January 23. He has been officiating as governor since Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s tenure ended on December 13.

State cabinet ministers as well as railway minister Mamata Banerjee and the six junior Union ministers from her party are among the invitees.

However, sources said Mamata was most likely to skip the event because Bhattacharjee would be there.

The CPM had earlier reacted with more enthusiasm to Narayanan’s appointment than Trinamul, which said it was “least bothered”.