Bengal's Raj Bhavan Renamed to Lok Bhavan: TMC Questions Governor's "Parallel Administration"

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh wondered whether the Governor wants to run a "parallel administration" in the state.

"Raj Bhavan is now Lok Bhavan. Keeping in mind the 2026 state Assembly elections, such a move started with West Bengal. The notification to make Raj Bhavan into Lok Bhavan was for the whole country. So why was it done first in West Bengal? Why not in other states? Does that mean the Governor wants to run a parallel administration?" Ghosh asked.

The name of the Raj Bhavan in West Bengal was changed on Saturday. Raj Bhavan, the Governor's House, will now be known as Lok Bhavan.

The renaming was the brainchild of the present Governor, C. V. Ananda Bose, who wanted the name of the Governor to shed the symbolism of British colonialism.

Thereafter, a proposal was sent from the office of the Governor to the office of President Droupadi Murmu regarding the name change.

Finally, formal approval arrived from the President's Office, according to a notification issued from the Governor's House on Friday afternoon.

According to the statement issued from the office of the Governor, on March 27, 2023, President Murmu handed over a symbolic key of the then Raj Bhavan to the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on the request of Governor Ananda Bose, heralding a new era of people's Raj Bhaban -- THE JANA RAJ BHABAN.

"In pursuance of the communication from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the Union government, with a memo dated November 25, 2025, it is hereby notified that the name of the building of 'Raj Bhaban' in Kolkata, Flagship House and Darjeeling, has been notified and renamed as Lok Bhaban," the notification said.

- IANS