Bengal Rebranding: BJP Government Replaces Mamata's 'Biswa Bangla' Logo with National Ashoka Emblem

KOLKATA: Following a historic shift in political power, the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, has initiated a massive rebranding exercise. The administration has begun systematically removing the iconic "Biswa Bangla" logo—the signature visual identity introduced by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—and replacing it with India's national emblem, the Ashoka Stambh.

The sweeping overhaul is highly visible across both physical infrastructure and digital government portals. Workers have already dismantled the massive Biswa Bangla signage at Salt Lake Stadium, replacing it with the Ashoka emblem. Concurrently, the state’s apex digital gateway, the "Egiye Bangla" portal, has swapped out the former logo. Reflecting the change in governance, the website's traditional white-and-blue theme has been replaced with a white and saffron color scheme, now prominently showcasing Chief Minister Adhikari's photograph.

State officials confirmed that the directives extend across all government collateral. The Biswa Bangla logo, which was designed around the Bengali letter "B" and launched in 2013 to promote state tourism and handicrafts, is being painted over on public structures and scrubbed from official letterheads.

BJP leadership defended the decision, asserting that a state’s primary identity should rely on the highest constitutional symbols rather than a logo created by an individual. While the Trinamool Congress historically viewed the emblem as a proud marker of Bengali cultural identity, the new administration has made it clear that the national emblem will remain the sole authorized stamp of the West Bengal government moving forward.