After Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar took charge as the Vice-President of India, the post of the Governor of West Bengal fell vacant. The charge was managed by the governor of Manipur, Shri La. Ganesan for a brief period.
Today, the President appointed the new Governor of Bengal – Shri C V Ananda Bose.
Mr. Bose is a former bureaucrat. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1977.
He was the first ever Fellow of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.
He has had a varied career spanning education, urban green management, nuclear research, etc. He has served at the highest levels in India’s bureaucracy and has also represented India internationally.
He is also a prolific author, having published about 32 books in English, Hindi, and Malayalam.
Why is the West Bengal Governor an important appointment?
West Bengal is currently ruled by Ms. Mamata Bannerjee. Her party does not support the Bharatiya Janata party, the party which currently forms the Central Government.
After the 2021 Assembly elections in Bengal (BJP lost these elections), BJP members had to face violence from the members of the ruling party.
Mamata Bannerjee’s party, the Trinamool Congress, has also opposed all Central schemes for Bengal.
The Governor has a constitutional responsibility. The governor of a state where the government opposes the Central government, has to be a master statesperson, to be able to balance their constitutional role and their co-ordination with the state machinery, which is usually driven by the state government.