state-guest-house-in-alipore-to-be-bengal-cm-s-official-residence

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is set to shift his official Kolkata base to a state-run guest house in Alipore, a senior official said on Sunday.

The government facility, ‘Soujanya’, located on Judges Court Road in south Kolkata, was constructed during the previous Trinamool Congress regime and inaugurated in 2018 by then chief minister Mamata Banerjee. It was originally designed to host VVIPs and visiting dignitaries.

According to officials, preparations are underway to convert the guest house into the chief minister’s official working residence in the city. “Necessary arrangements are being made at ‘Soujanya’ in accordance with the requirements of the chief minister’s office and security protocol,” a senior official said. The date of the formal shift has not yet been finalised.

Until now, Adhikari had been staying at a private apartment in the Chinar Park area on the northern outskirts of Kolkata during his visits to the city for official
work.

The Alipore guest house is located nearly a kilometre from Mamata Banerjee’s residence, highlighting the administrative and political proximity of key power centres in the state capital.

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West Bengal does not have a designated official residence for the chief minister. Successive chief ministers have traditionally operated from their private homes. Leaders such as Jyoti Basu, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and Mamata Banerjee have all functioned from their residences while in office.

Historical records note that Ajoy Mukherjee, who served briefly as chief minister in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was the last leader from outside Kolkata to hold the post.

Adhikari, who hails from Kanthi in Purba Medinipur district, is the first chief minister in over five decades to come from outside Kolkata. His shift to ‘Soujanya’
is being seen as an effort to establish a formal administrative base in the state capital while maintaining proximity to key government offices.

Officials said the move will also help streamline security arrangements and official meetings, given the absence of a designated CM residence in the state.