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Kolkata: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose resigned from his post on Thursday after being in office for three and a half years. He has sent his resignation to the President of India, following which he departed to Delhi. The reason behind his resignation is not yet clear. 

This comes ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, which is scheduled to be held on March 16.

‘Shocked’: Mamata Banerjee

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was shocked by the sudden resignation of Bose. In a post on X, she said, “I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal.” Stating that she is not aware of the reason behind Bose's resignation, Banerjee added, “However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some  pressure from the Union Home Minister [Amit Shah] to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections.”

RN Ravi To Be The New Governor

The Chief Minister stated that Amit Shah informed her that R.N. Ravi is being appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal. Banerjee said, “He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard. Such actions undermine the spirit of the Constitution of India and strike at the very foundation of our federal structure.”

She further said, “The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of States.”

Political Pressure To Resign?

Apart from CM Mamata Banerjee, other TMC leaders are weighing the possibility that Bose may have resigned due to political pressure. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said, “We are all shocked. This is an unexpected resignation. Our top leadership is monitoring this. Whether he was under tremendous political pressure or not is a question now. What is happening before the election? BJP is doing politics by misusing CEC Gyanesh Kumar.”

Alleging that Bose's resignation and the appointment of the new Governor did not take place through a “democratic process”, Ghosh said, “Home Minister gave CM the name of the new Governor; this did not happen through a democratic process. If a Governor resigns all of a sudden, a consultation should take place with the CM. But whichever Governor is sent to Bengal by Amit Shah, one thing is clear for him - the Governor sent by him will have to administer CM's oath to Mamata Banerjee for the fourth time.”