Bose’s exit draws curtain on uneasy Lok Bhavan-Nabanna ties marked by flashpoints

Kolkata, Mar 5 (PTI) The sudden resignation of West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has drawn the curtains on a tenure that began with cautious optimism but gradually slipped into friction with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government over a series of political and administrative flashpoints.

Though Bose initially appeared less confrontational than his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar, differences between the Lok Bhavan and the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’ surfaced over time on issues ranging from law and order to university administration and the governor’s interventions in politically sensitive developments.

The uneasy equation came back into sharp focus on Thursday after Bose stepped down abruptly, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to express shock and hint at possible political pressure behind the move ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.

“I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal,” Banerjee wrote in a post on X.

“The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections,” she said.

Banerjee also alleged that the Union home minister informed her that R N Ravi, Tamil Nadu Governor and ex-deputy NSA, would hold additional charge of West Bengal.

“Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri R.N. Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard,” she said.

“Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure. The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of states,” the chief minister added.

Bose, a former IAS officer, assumed office in November 2022 after Dhankhar demitted the post to become Vice President, raising expectations in political circles that the prolonged confrontation between Lok Bhavan and the TMC government might ease.

For a while, the relationship remained relatively stable, with fewer public confrontations compared to the Dhankhar years when Lok Bhavan and the state government were frequently at loggerheads.

However, the calm proved temporary as differences began surfacing over governance issues, including the governor seeking reports from the state administration on incidents of violence and other developments, moves that sections of the TMC leadership viewed as attempts to scrutinise the functioning of the elected government.

There were also periodic disagreements over the role of the governor in university administration, an issue that had already been a major flashpoint during Dhankhar’s tenure.

The tension became more pronounced during the unrest in Sandeshkhali in 2024 when Bose visited the trouble-torn area and interacted with residents, drawing criticism from sections of the ruling party which accused the opposition of trying to politicise the issue.

Another major flashpoint emerged after a woman employee of the Lok Bhavan alleged that she was sexually harassed by Bose and lodged a complaint at the Hare Street police station in Kolkata.

Bose had dismissed the allegation as “absurd drama” and asserted that no one would be able to deter him from his “determined efforts to expose corruption and curb violence”.

The issue snowballed into a political controversy after Banerjee raised the matter during Lok Sabha election rallies, prompting a sharp response from Bose who charged the chief minister with indulging in “dirty politics”.

The confrontation escalated further when Bose filed a defamation case against Banerjee in the Calcutta High Court a day after she claimed that women had told her they were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan because of the activities there.

Bose’s resignation now brings an abrupt end to a phase of uneasy engagement between Lok Bhavan and Nabanna, once again spotlighting the delicate balance of power between the constitutional head of the state and a party opposed to the one ruling the Centre in politically charged Bengal ahead of the next assembly elections. PTI PNT NN