West Bengal renames Raj Bhavan as Lok Bhavan in presence of Governor CV Ananda Bose

West Bengal on Saturday renamed its Raj Bhavan in Kolkata as Lok Bhavan in line with a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose did the honours in Kolkata to mark the symbolic shift by removing the word “Raj” from its walls and replaced it with “Lok”.

In a statement, the Governor said, “On 27.03.2023, Hon'ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu handed over a symbolic key of the then Raj Bhavan to Hon'ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on the request of the undersigned, heralding a new era of people's Raj Bhavan - The Jana Raj Bhavan.”

The statement further read that the move comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs' notification issued on 25 November.

"It is hereby notified that the name of the holdings of "Raj Bhavan" in Kolkata, Flagstaff House and Darjeeling, has hereby been modified and renamed as "Lok Bhavan"," it said.

The changes are being implemented with immediate effect.

The Raj Bhavan, now renamed as Lok Bhavan, serves as the governor's official residence and also houses his office.

“There has been a decision by the Government of India which has been conveyed through a notification issued by the Home Ministry that all Raj Bhavans will be named Lok Bhavans...Two years back, I requested the President to hand over a symbolic key of the Raj Bhavan to the elected Chief Minister and declare Raj Bhavan as Jana Raj Bhavan. This idea was discussed in the Governor's Conference. The Prime Minister also stressed the need for all Raj Bhavans to become accessible to the people...Raj Bhavan is renamed not only for the sake of a name, but it is also the spirit behind it that is important. This asserts the sovereignty of the people, which is enshrined in the Constitution of India. This is also a message to the new generation,” Bose told ANI after changing the name formally.

Why was Raj Bhavan renamed?

In a post on X, Governor CV Ananda Bose said that the Jana Raj Bhavan concept was prompted by the need to serve people and their aspirations.

“The 'Jana Raj Bhavan' conceptualisation by the then Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, was prompted by the urge to make the establishment alive to the needs of the people, their aspirations and hopes, their problems and challenges. Simultaneously, the imposing edifice was to shed its aura of 'awe and fear' and be open to people from all walks of life,” he said.

Over the past three years, several constructive people-centric programmes have been initiated, Bose said.

“A key element of the Jana Raj Bhavan initiative was its proactive role in the service of people -- to be with them whenever such a need arose. Across the length and breadth of West Bengal, whenever there was a situation of exigency -- be it violence, natural calamity, or even complaints of atrocities, Jana Raj Bhavan reached out to those in need,” he said.

"In tune with the transformational and inspirational leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has ensured participation of people across all segments of society in the onward spectacular march towards Viksit Bharat, Raj Bhavan and Raj Niwas across the country have been uniformly decided to be renamed as Lok Bhavan and Lok Niwas respectively, as per a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 25 November, 2025," Bose added.

The erstwhile Raj Bhavan holdings in West Bengal will be named Lok Bhavan for all purposes from now on, the Governor announced.