BJP Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday demanded that West Bengal be renamed “Paschim Banga”, raising the issue during a parliamentary debate on a bill proposing to change Kerala’s name to Keralam. Bhattacharya was participating in a discussion on the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, which seeks to formally rename the southern state as Keralam. Welcoming the proposed change, the BJP MP said the people of Kerala had struggled for decades for the name alteration. He presented the proposal as an acknowledgment of the state’s linguistic and cultural identity and congratulated the people of Keralam over the move.

While supporting the Kerala bill, Bhattacharya shifted the focus to his home state of West Bengal and argued that a similar consideration should be given to changing its name. He demanded that West Bengal be renamed “Paschim Banga”, saying the proposed name was connected to the state’s history and the circumstances surrounding the partition of Bengal in 1947. The BJP leader also took aim at the Trinamool Congress, which has been in power in West Bengal for several years. Bhattacharya alleged that there had previously been attempts to rename the state as “Bengal” because the party enjoyed a majority in the state Assembly. His remarks reflected the continuing political debate in West Bengal over the state's official name and how it should represent its historical and regional identity.

The question of changing the name of West Bengal has been raised by political parties and leaders at different points in the past. The state’s present name has particular historical significance because the 1947 partition divided the erstwhile Bengal province into West Bengal, which became part of India, and East Bengal, which became part of Pakistan and was later transformed into Bangladesh following the 1971 Liberation War. The proposed use of “Paschim Banga” similarly draws on the geographical and historical distinction between the western and eastern parts of the former Bengal region. The term has also appeared in earlier discussions over changing the state’s official name.

Also Read: Bengal Madrasas Receive Unmarked Survey Forms on Funding and Affiliations

However, any formal alteration would require constitutional and parliamentary procedures rather than being decided solely by a state government or political party. The discussion in the Rajya Sabha therefore placed two separate questions of state identity alongside each other. While the Kerala bill seeks to recognise the name Keralam, Bhattacharya used the debate to argue that West Bengal should also consider a name that, in his view, better reflects its historical circumstances. His demand adds another political dimension to the broader discussion in India over state names, regional languages, historical memory and cultural identity. State names in India have frequently been shaped by linguistic, cultural and historical considerations.

Several states have undergone name changes since Independence, reflecting evolving regional identities and political demands. The debate over Kerala and the demand concerning West Bengal show that questions surrounding nomenclature can carry significance beyond terminology, often becoming part of wider discussions about heritage, representation and the political identity of a region. Bhattacharya’s intervention came as Parliament considered the proposed change from Kerala to Keralam, giving the BJP MP an opportunity to connect the issue with a long-standing demand concerning West Bengal. While the Kerala proposal was the subject of the day’s legislative debate, his call for “Paschim Banga” ensured that the question of West Bengal’s name also entered the Rajya Sabha discussion.

Also Read: West Bengal Governor Urges Universities To Observe August 14 As Partition Horrors Remembrance Day