India news: Suvendu Adhikari takes oath as West Bengal's first BJP chief minister

What you need to know

• Suvendu Adhikari sworn in as chief minister of West Bengal
• Modi, Shah attend swearing-in of first BJP CM in state
• Vijay's TVK party back to shoring up the numbers in a bid to claim power in Tamil Nadu

Here is a roundup of the latest updates from India on Saturday, May 9: 

Suvendu Adhikari sworn in as chief minister of West Bengal

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as chief minister of West Bengal on Saturday. He is heading theparty's first government in the eastern state after a landslide election victory.

Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office at a ceremony in Kolkata attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and senior BJP leaders

In the election, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended the 15-year rule of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) party.

After Banerjee refused to resign following her party's poll debacle, alleging irregularities by the BJP, the governor dissolved the state assembly on Thursday.

"I have not lost ... I will not tender resignation," Banerjee told a press conference on Tuesday.

Critics have alleged that mass voter deletions after a monthslong Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise helped pave the way for the BJP.

The BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, while the TMC secured 80.

Adhikari is a former minister in Banerjee's government, and his father served as a Union minister under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In Tamil Nadu, political uncertainty continues

In Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay's TVK party, which had appeared on course to form the next government on Friday after days of uncertainty, is now back to shoring up the numbers in a bid to claim power.

The past five days have seen intense political wrangling after Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) failed to immediately translate its sweeping election victory into government formation.

Governor Rajendra Arlekar said the party had not demonstrated the majority support needed to stake a claim to power. Despite precedents to the contrary, the governor maintained that proving majority support was "essential" for government formation.

On Friday, three parties — the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) — were reported to have extended support to TVK, giving the party the requisite numbers to form a government.

However, as of Saturday, there was still uncertainty over the reported support.

What do the numbers say?

• Seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly: 243
• Seats won by newcomer TVK: 108
• Seats required to form a government: 118
• TVK seats with the support of the Congress party: 113

Meanwhile, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran alleged that a letter of support from his party's legislator had been forged by the TVK.

Welcome to our coverage

Hello!

This is Shakeel from DW's New Delhi studio, bringing you the latest news from across India.

You might think political wrangling would take a back seat over the weekend, but that is not the case. In Tamil Nadu, Vijay is working to shore up the numbers for his TVK party in a bid to claim power.

In West Bengal, the BJP is cementing its dominance with the swearing-in of new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ceremony.

Meanwhile, in Bihar, a recent spate of gang rapes has put the spotlight on the state's law-and-order situation.

For all this and more, stay tuned to our India live blog.