Bengaluru, May 10: Former India international Manoj Tiwary entered a new chapter in his life as he was sworn in a minister of state in West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee cabinet on Monday (May 10).
Mamata Banerjee who was sworn in as Bengal CM on May 5, expanded her cabinet on Monday by adding 43 three ministers, including 19 ministers of state, of which was one was Tiwary.
The cabinet expansion took place at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata in the presence of governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in a simple ceremony, keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic protocols.
This swearing-in ceremony has been an unprecedented experience for me. I would like to thank our favourite DIDI @MamataOfficial & my brother @abhishekaitc for having faith on me and giving this opportunity to serve the people of Bengal.
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) May 10, 2021
A new journey begins!#AITC #JoyBangla pic.twitter.com/WvbkfVrsSr
The 35-year-old, who played 12 One-day Internationals and three T20s for India, is one of the 15 new faces in the ministry and has been given the youth and sports portfolio.
Cricketer Manoj Tiwary is now Bengal Minister of State for Youth and Sports. https://t.co/ps3Tjj5oy9
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) May 10, 2021
Tiwary, who contested on a TMC ticket, had defeated BJP’s Rathin Chakraborty in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in five phases in April.
The former international cricketer, who joined politics just ahead of the Bengal elections, had contested from the Shibpur Assembly constituency in Howrah.
The 35-year-old began his career in politics on a thumping note, and after his win, Tiwary had told the Telegraph, "At this point, I am not thinking of taking up sports administration. But I'll always work for the betterment of sportspersons and sports in general.”
Following his win, the former India international took to social media and said that winning the elections was just a small win and the real win would be when the state would defeat the dreaded coronavirus.
"This victory belongs to every citizen of Shibpur, this victory belongs to all who supported me & also who didn’t. Congratulations to all of you! But it’s not the right time to celebrate. We'll wait till out Bengal wins the battle over Covid-19. Stay safe, Joy Bangla,” tweeted Tiwary.