Bihar Renames 1, Aney Marg as Lok Sevak Marg After Nitish Kumar Vacates Iconic CM Residence
The iconic 1, Aney Marg residence in Patna, long associated with Bihar’s chief ministers and most recently with former CM Nitish Kumar, is set to enter a new chapter.
Although Kumar has moved out of the historic bungalow, his successor, Samrat Choudhary, will not inherit the same address in its old form, as the Bihar government has officially renamed Aney Marg as “Lok Sevak Marg.”
The move is being seen as part of a broader political and administrative rebranding exercise inspired by the Centre’s recent practice of renaming key institutions and official spaces.
Similar changes include referring to the Prime Minister’s Office as “Seva Tirth” and Raj Bhavans as “Lok Bhavans.”
On May 2, Nitish Kumar vacated the residence after decades of association with the property and shifted to 7, Circular Road. With that move, he became the last occupant of the famed 1, Aney Marg address.
The official residence of the chief minister will now be connected administratively with the deputy chief minister’s residence at 5, Deshratna Marg — a bungalow that Samrat Choudhary occupied until recently.
The history of the Aney Marg residence stretches back several decades.
The bungalow officially became the chief minister’s residence during the tenure of former Bihar CM Bindeshwari Dubey, who served between 1985 and 1988.
His successor, Bhagwat Jha Azad, also lived there. However, former CM Satyendra Narayan Sinha reportedly used the premises mainly for official work rather than as a personal residence.
The road itself was named after Madhav Srihari Aney, Bihar’s second Governor, who served from 1948 to 1952.
A respected Sanskrit scholar, Congress leader, and member of the Constituent Assembly, Aney was honoured after his death in 1968 when the road connecting Lok Bhavan and Deshratna Marg Square to Circular Road was named after him.
Recalling the old character of the neighbourhood, senior Congress leader Harkhu Jha, son of former Assembly Speaker Radha Nandan Jha, said his family once lived next door to the chief minister’s residence.
“My father used to stay in the bungalow adjacent to 1, Aney Marg. Our address was 1A, Aney Marg. Later, that property was merged with 1, Aney Marg.
There were also a few other houses on the road, but they no longer exist,” he said.
The residence underwent major expansion during the tenure of former Bihar chief minister and RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav. Lalu and his wife Rabri Devi, who succeeded him as chief minister in 1997, lived there from 1990 until 2005.
Nitish Kumar moved into the bungalow in November 2005 after Rabri Devi vacated it in March 2006.
Except for a brief nine-month period between May 2014 and February 2015 — when Jitan Ram Manjhi served as chief minister — Kumar remained the uninterrupted occupant of the residence for nearly two decades.
During his long tenure, Nitish Kumar made several additions to the premises, including a dedicated Janata Durbar enclosure where he regularly met citizens, as well as a chief ministerial secretariat within the compound.
Interestingly, Kumar’s recent move to Circular Road has also brought him geographically closer to long-time political rival Lalu Prasad Yadav. His relocation comes shortly after his election to the Rajya Sabha.
Before Aney Marg became synonymous with Bihar’s chief ministers, the state’s top leaders lived in different government bungalows across Patna.
Bihar’s first chief minister, Srikrishna Singh, resided at 4 KG, now known as Deshratna Marg, while socialist icon Karpoori Thakur lived at 1, Deshratna Marg, which has since been converted into a museum.
Former CM Jagannath Mishra, who held office three times between 1975 and 1990, also stayed at various official residences, including one located on Bailey Road.
