Kolkata: Gopalkrishna Gandhi today (Dec 14, 2004) took over as the 18th Governor of West Bengal replacing Viren J Shah at a simple function at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

The swearing-in ceremony, held at the Throne Room, was conducted by acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court Ajoy Nath Ray.

The function was attended, among others, by Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, his cabinet colleagues, besides Chief Secretary Ashok Gupta, Home Secretary A K Deb and secretaries of different departments.

The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Pankaj Banerjee attended the programme.

Among other dignitaries, former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and CPM (Communist Party Marxist) politburo members Sitaram Yechuri and Anil Biswas were present.