NEW DELHI, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Mamata Banerjee, the head of a regional party - All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) was Wednesday sworn in as chief minister of India's eastern state of West Bengal for the third consecutive term.
"Mamata Banerjee was today sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal during a brief ceremony," a senior local government official posted in Kolkata, the state capital said. "West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Banerjee."
The ceremony was held inside the "Throne Room" at Raj Bhavan (Governor's House).
The 66-year-old Banerjee has been at the helm of affairs in the state since May 20, 2011.
Officials said the ceremony was held in a low-key manner in the shadow of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and post-poll violence in parts of the state that reportedly has claimed over a dozen lives.
TMC office-bearers said only Banerjee was sworn in and the rest of the cabinet and the council of ministers will be sworn in on May 9, the birth anniversary of poet Rabindranath Tagore.
On Sunday, Banerjee led TMC to a spectacular victory in local elections by winning 213 seats from a total of 292, while rivaling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) only managed to bag 77 in the bitterly contested electoral battle.
In her brief address, Banerjee said her priority would be to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Enditem