Atal Bihari Vajpayee Park is renamed by the Nitish Kumar administration, sparking political controversy in Bihar

Following the disputed decision by the Nitish Kumar administration to rename the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Park in Patna’s Kankarbagh neighborhood, a wave of discontent has spread across Bihar. A bitter political debate over the park’s new name, “Coconut Park,” has erupted and brought to light the state’s political system’s entrenched fault lines.

The park was renamed after being first called “Coconut Park” and then afterwards changed to commemorate the late former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2018. According to media sources, the decision has elicited a range of emotions, with the planned inauguration of Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav being unexpectedly postponed.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has harshly condemned the choice, is chiefly responsible for the controversy. The existence of an Atal Bihari Vajpayee monument inside the park is what the BJP is worried about; Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, called the renaming a “crime” and expressed extreme dissatisfaction. Samrat Chaudhary, the state president of the BJP, echoed Rai’s feelings when he denounced the Bihar government for allegedly insulting the Bharat Ratna recipient’s heritage.

Tej Pratap Yadav, the environment, forest, and climate change minister for Bihar, is responsible for the decision to rename the area. The state administration persisted in restoring “Coconut Park” as the name of the park despite growing criticism. As concerns are raised about the current government’s commitment to honoring the legacy of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a titan within the BJP, this action nonetheless highlights the underlying political tensions in Bihar.