The BRICS TimesWest Bengal’s newly formed BJP government under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has committed to following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public call for fuel conservation as states across India line up behind the Centre’s austerity push amid a growing global energy crisis tied to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Bengal Rallies Behind Modi’s Fuel-Saving Call
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has made it clear his government will not stay on the sidelines. Days after taking charge at the state secretariat Nabanna, Adhikari signalled that the newly formed BJP government in Bengal would act in step with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationwide appeal to cut down on fuel use. The move comes as India grapples with a deepening energy challenge fuelled in large part by the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which has disrupted global oil supply chains.
PM Modi, while speaking at an event in Telangana, had urged every Indian to use petrol, diesel and gas with far greater restraint. “Today, the need of the hour is also to use petrol, gas, diesel and such things with great restraint. We have to use imported petroleum products only as per need. This will not only save foreign exchange but reduce the adverse impact of war,” the Prime Minister said. His appeal sweeping in scope extended to advising citizens to skip foreign travel, avoid gold purchases for a year, use public transport, embrace carpooling, and revive work-from-home practices from the COVID-19 era.
Bengal’s New Government Steps Into Line
The Adhikari government’s commitment to follow the PM’s example on fuel consumption carries considerable symbolic weight. Bengal was, until very recently, ruled by the Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee a government that often found itself at odds with the Centre on issues of energy pricing and austerity. The BJP’s landslide win in the 2026 Assembly elections, securing 207 of 294 seats, has now brought the state fully under what Adhikari calls a “double-engine government” meaning alignment between state and Centre.
BJP MP Saumitra Khan, speaking after the first Cabinet meeting, backed both the state government’s early decisions and Modi’s nationwide austerity push in the same breath. “When Prime Minister Narendra Modi is saying something, he is saying it thoughtfully. If you do not buy gold for one year, it will not cause you any loss. If you don’t go abroad for travel for one year, it won’t cause any problem. We need to use as little fuel as possible,” he said.
A National Pattern Taking Shape
Bengal is not alone in this. Several BJP-ruled states have already moved to trim official fuel consumption after the PM’s remarks. Gujarat ordered its ministers to reduce convoy sizes and declared “Chemical Engine Free Days” at universities. Bihar’s deputy CM halved his cavalcade and asked ministers to avoid unnecessary travel altogether. Rajasthan’s CM Bhajanlal Sharma reduced his official convoy to just five cars.
The central government, meanwhile, moved quickly to calm public nerves assuring citizens there was no shortage of petrol, diesel, LPG, or crude oil in the country. A senior official from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas urged people to follow Modi’s appeal and shift to public transport, metro services, and carpooling wherever possible framing the call as one of collective national responsibility rather than crisis management.
Austerity as Governance Or Just Politics?
Critics have not stayed quiet. Some opposition leaders questioned the timing of the austerity push pointing out that it came right after Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu concluded. MP N K Premachandran of the Revolutionary Socialist Party called Modi’s fuel-saving appeal “unfortunate,” arguing the Centre had failed to take timely action despite the West Asia conflict dragging on for months. Others noted that asking ordinary citizens to cut back while the government undertakes large-scale official travel raised uncomfortable questions.
Khan, however, pushed back firmly. He argued that the PM’s foreign engagements served India’s national interest and were not comparable to personal leisure travel. “The opposition has no agenda, so they are trying to make this a new issue,” he said.
Bengal’s First Cabinet Sets the Tone
Adhikari’s first Cabinet meeting had already sent a strong signal about how his government planned to operate. The new administration approved the transfer of land to the Border Security Force for fencing the India-Bangladesh border a long-pending demand. It greenlit the rollout of Ayushman Bharat, PM SHRI, the Vishwakarma Scheme, Ujjwala Yojana and other flagship central schemes that Bengal had held back under the previous government. PM Modi publicly welcomed the move, saying the “double-engine government” would ensure seamless delivery of welfare to the people of Bengal.
With the state now aligned with the Centre’s direction on fuel conservation as much as governance Bengal’s new chapter looks set to be defined by one word that Adhikari himself used: “Asol Poriborton” real change.
