What happened
When Ayushman Bharat launched in 2018, West Bengal's Trinamool Congress government declined to participate. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said "hobe na" — it won't happen — repeatedly over the years, citing the state's own Swastha Sathi scheme as superior. In practice, private hospitals grew reluctant to honour Swastha Sathi cards, citing reimbursement delays from the state treasury, leaving six crore beneficiaries with a card that providers didn't particularly want to accept. On May 9, 2026, Suvendu Adhikari took charge as Chief Minister after the BJP's historic win. By June 8 — less than 30 days later — his government signed the memorandum with Union Health Minister JP Nadda, making West Bengal the 36th and last state to join a scheme that launched when the Mamata government was in its first term. Nadda, at the signing, noted that residents had been denied the central scheme because Mamata repeatedly said "hobe na." He did not elaborate on what eight years of "hobe na" cost the six crore who were waiting.