Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari is slated to pay his first visit to north Bengal after the change of guard on May 20, sources in the state administration said on Saturday.
Suvendu, who went to Diamond Harbour on Saturday and held an administrative review meeting, is scheduled to reach Siliguri on May 20.
“This will be his first visit to north Bengal since he became the chief minister. He is likely to attend an administrative review meeting in Uttarkanya (the state’s branch secretariat on the southern outskirts of Siliguri) on the same day,” said a source.
It will be a day-long visit. On May 21, the chief minister will head to Durgapur for another administrative meeting.
In the 2026 state polls, the BJP decimated Trinamool in the region, winning 40 of the 54 seats. In 2021, the BJP won 30 seats.
Ahead of the chief minister’s visit, Nisith Pramanik, the minister of north Bengal development and sports and youth affairs departments, reached Uttarkanya on Saturday. Pramanik held a meeting with officials of the north Bengal development department (NBDD), formed by Mamata Banerjee after she assumed power in 2011.
“Certain anomalies in jobs taken up by NBDD during the tenure of the earlier government have come to our notice. We will open all necessary files and conduct a comprehensive probe. Any contractor awarded work by the department and found involved in corruption will be blacklisted,” Pramanik said after the meeting.
“We will seek proposals from all north Bengal MLAs, irrespective of their political affiliation, and then select projects. I will personally speak to them, including those from Trinamool Congress. There should be a balance in the selection of projects so that no district or no Assembly segment is left behind,” he added.
During their campaign, BJP leaders and candidates repeatedly alleged that no important administrative work was carried out in Uttarkanya.
On this, Pramanik said: “We have an efficient set of officials, engineers and staff here at the NBDD. If required, we will consult with the chief minister to increase manpower. We will put in efforts to see that even cabinet meetings are held at Uttarkanya.”
Eye on sports
Nisith Pramanik said the BJP government would develop sports infrastructure in north Bengal and the state. “As the minister of state in the Union sports ministry, I tried to bring in central funds to improve sports in Bengal, but the earlier state government didn’t take the initiative to avail such funds. We will develop the existing stadiums and other sports arenas and set up new infrastructure across the state," Pramanik said.