Published Mar 05, 2026 | 9:18 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 05, 2026 | 9:18 PM
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. Credit: x.com/lokbhavan_tn
Synopsis: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is set to be appointed Governor of West Bengal, replacing CV Ananda Bose, who resigned on Thursday. Ravi’s tenure in Tamil Nadu since 2021 has been marked by repeated clashes with the DMK government.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is set to replace former West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday, 5 March.
Bose had been serving as the Governor of West Bengal until Thursday before suddenly resigning.
Banerjee said she was shocked and “deeply concerned” by the sudden development and suggested that Bose may have been put under pressure by the Union government to “serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections”.
Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry, are due to hold Assembly elections in 2026.
“[The] Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri RN Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. 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,” Banerjee wrote in a post on X.
“The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of States.”
I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal.
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…
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 5, 2026
Bose, the grandnephew of Subhas Chandra Bose, had a strained relationship with the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, particularly with Banerjee, during his tenure.
Similarly, Ravi, a former IPS officer who has served as Governor of Tamil Nadu since 2021, has had an acrimonious tenure in the role and is known for frequent, high-profile clashes with the DMK government.
Between September 2021 and May 2022, he withheld assent to 21 Bills passed by the State Assembly.
On 20 January 2026, he declined to read the customary government address at the start of the first session of the Legislative Assembly and walked out of the House, triggering a fresh confrontation between Raj Bhavan and the DMK-led State government.
This follows a pattern in recent years. Since 2023, Ravi has not completed the address. In 2024, he cited alleged disrespect to the National Anthem in the Assembly. He repeated the charge in 2025 and raised the same allegation again this year.
His gubernatorial term in Nagaland ended on a bitter note, with the Isak Muivah-led National Socialist Council of Nagaland condoning his alleged softness towards Naga National Political Groups.
The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party also criticised him. The organisation’s president, Chingwang Konyak, accused Ravi of interfering in the functioning of the government. Journalists from the Kohima Press Club snubbed Ravi by boycotting the farewell function the state had organised for him.
Later, ruling alliance partners in Tamil Nadu also stayed away from the customary ‘At Home’ tea party he hosted as part of the Independence Day celebrations over his alleged anti-democratic ways.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
