Calcutta, Nov. 6 :    Calcutta, Nov. 6:  Jyoti Basu today ushered successor Buddhadev Bhattacharya to the seat of power, leaving him to translate a barely-begun verse of Mayakovsky and tackle the soon-to-come challenge of Mamata Banerjee. Amid showers of rose petals in the afternoon and shouts of lal salam in the evening, Basu bowed out in an outpouring of admiration not known in Communist custom. Bengal was given a new chief minister after nearly 24 years when Governor Viren J. Shah administered the oath of office and secrecy to Bhattacharya at Raj Bhavan today. 'I will follow in the footsteps of Jyoti Basu,' Bhattacharya, who became Bengal's seventh chief minister, said immediately after. At 4.34 pm, from the country's longest-serving chief minister, Basu became simply the MLA from Satgachhia, watching from close distance his apprentice and 31 years his junior, Bhattacharya, fumble once before saying the oath and taking over the reins half-a-year before the state goes into elections. 'Writers' Buildings will not be the same from tomorrow,' said transport minister Subhas Chakraborty. The nameplate on the chief minister's office hadn't been removed till late evening, though. The entire Cabinet was sworn in, except for the cooperation minister Bhakti Bhusan Mondal who is ill. The swearing-in ceremony lasted 15 minutes, with only Bhattacharya saying the full oath and the others in chorus. Bhattacharya became the first chief minister to take oath in Bengali and rounded the day off with lines from uncle Sukanta's poem. The Opposition - Trinamul Congress, Congress and BJP - boycotted the swearing-in. The Banquet Hall of Raj Bhavan was illuminated by half-a-dozen huge chandeliers shining on a gathering where actors, film directors, singers, authors, academics and sportsmen rubbed shoulders with politicians and bureaucrats. Rabindrasangeet singer Suchitra Mitra and cricket captain Sourav Ganguly were unlikely neighbours in a crowd that was obviously handpicked by Bhattacharya with his known cultural inclinations. Basu arrived a little before 4.30 pm with granddaughter Doel. At the instance of the Governor, 87-year-old Basu was invited to sit on the dais. Perhaps it was stage fright that got to Bhattacharya when he fumbled once Shah gave him the cue after reading the first word - aami (I) - from the oath-script and stopped. 'It is a new and serious responsibility. I will try my best to reach out to the people of West Bengal,' 56-year-old Bhattacharya said. A relaxed Basu sat with the Governor and Bhattacharya sipping tea after the swearing-in. 'I have been in parliamentary politics for 60 years and was chief minister for 23 years. I am grateful to the people for this,' Basu said. Shah butted in: 'He (Basu) continues to be there (may be not as a chief minister).' Later, at a felicitation programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Basu asked partymen to reach out to the people. 'Don't be complacent. Instead, go to the people to share their sorrows and miseries. And that can only help us come back to power,' Basu told the crowd that spilled out of the stadium. Basu said he would concentrate on strengthening the CPM and the Left Front. 'Although I have stepped down, I will continue as politburo member and will help build up a third front,' he said. Overwhelmed by the reception, Basu said: 'During my long stint as chief minister, I always tried my best to serve the people, keeping aside personal gains.' Ending his 40-minute speech, Basu quoted Russian poet Mayakovsky to assert that he would continue to work for the 'liberation of mankind' till his death. He turned to Bhattacharya and told the crowd: 'Buddha knows literature well, he will translate the poem for you.' Basu stopped after quoting a few words, not giving Bhattacharya much to translate. But he swore in his speech later: 'Basu's vision will guide my path'.