Kerala’s Move Spurs Mamata To Renew Push For Renaming Bengal

With the renaming of Kerala to Keralam, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has turned the issue into a significant political flashpoint ahead of the state election due in a couple of months. Didi termed the BJP “anti-Bengal” and accused the CPI(M) of maintaining a tacit understanding with the saffron party. She alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah remember West Bengal only during election season, while consistently blocking the state’s longstanding demand for a name change. The issue dates back to 1999 when the Left Front government led by chief minister Jyoti Basu first proposed renaming the state “Paschim Bangla”. After coming to power in 2011, Mamata revived the effort. In 2016, her government suggested “Bengal” in English, “Bangla” in Bengali, and “Bangal” in Hindi, but the Centre rejected the proposal, citing the use of three different names. A later suggestion to adopt “Bangla” as the sole name was also turned down, reportedly because it sounded similar to Bangladesh, potentially causing confusion in international forums. The controversy has put both the BJP and the CPI(M) on the defensive. The state CPI(M) leaders have reacted cautiously as prominent CPI(M) leader Pratik Ur Rahaman defected to the TMC. Local BJP leaders have dismissed Mamata’s claims as politically motivated, accusing her of sidelining the legacy of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and using the issue to polarise voters as campaigning gathers pace..