With polls in sight, Bengal BJP revives Durga Puja at Kolkata's EZCC after 2 yrs
While the event is officially being organised by the 'West Bengal Cultural Manch,' its close ties to the BJP are evident, with key party figures leading the arrangements.
Speaking at the khunti puja, state president Samik Bhattacharya stressed the cultural and apolitical nature of the festival and said, 'Maa Durga is inseparable from the Hindu Bengali diaspora.' He highlighted Bengal's historical tradition of communal harmony during festivals, citing examples of Muslims participating in Durga Puja. He mentioned about a 300-year-old puja in Basirhat where a Muslim family, which has been living there for generations actively participates in the puja.
'In Bengal, Muharram processions and Durga Puja immersion must take place in the same lane at the same time peacefully,' he said, invoking a message of unity.
On being selected as the new president of the West Bengal BJP, Bhattacharya had made similar statements regarding Durga Puja and Muharram
BJP's revival of Durga Puja at EZCC is seen as strategic outreach to tap into Bengali voters' cultural and religious sentiments ahead of 2026 polls, strategy that was last employed before the 2021 Assembly elections. This year's Puja marks a revival of a tradition that was initiated by the BJP in 2020, when the party had organised a grand puja at the EZCC, which was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The puja was held again in 2021, but enthusiasm reportedly waned after the BJP's electoral defeat.
According to tradition, a puja, once started, must be performed for at least three consecutive years. Following this custom, the Durga Puja at EZCC was held for three consecutive years, concluding in 2022. It was then discontinued in 2023 and 2024, with a smaller, more subdued celebration held at Oikyatan in 2023.
Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics.
With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences.
Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
12 minutes ago
- Hans India
BJP calls Oppn march against SIR ‘anti-democratic'
New Delhi: The BJP on Monday termed the Opposition protest march towards the Election Commission of India's office as 'anti-democratic' and 'meaningless.' The BJP dismissed the allegations, accusing them of creating chaos to mask their political irrelevance. BJP National General Secretary, Arun Singh, said the protest undermined democratic norms. 'The conduct of the Congress and other Opposition MPs is essentially anti-democratic. Important issues can be raised in Zero Hour and Question Hour in Parliament, but they have wasted that time,' Singh said. BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi also dismissed the protest march of the Opposition parties. 'This protest is meaningless. Demonstrations are justified when demands are ignored, but the Election Commission — a constitutional body — was willing to meet them,' she said.
Hans India
12 minutes ago
- Hans India
BJP urges officials to protect forest land
Khammam: A BJP delegation led by senior leader Namburi Ramalingeswara Rao submitted a memorandum to Additional Collector (Revenue) Srinivasa Reddy on Saturday, demanding an urgent land survey to protect forest lands in Gangaram village of Sattupalli mandal. The delegation alleged that forest lands in Survey Nos. 133, 131 and 40, spread over more than 300 acres, were being illegally encroached upon by a Hyderabad-based real estate developer. According to the BJP, the builder, in collusion with local political leaders, had begun destroying hills and forest areas to facilitate illegal occupation. 'The developer started clearing forested hills with machinery, but retreated after BJP leaders and local farmers strongly protested the move,' said Ramalingeswara Rao, adding that this was not an isolated incident. The BJP leaders expressed concern over what they described as a pattern of illegal encroachments on forest land in the region, allegedly due to inaction by revenue officials. They stressed the need for an immediate and comprehensive government land survey to clearly demarcate and declare forest lands, and to initiate action against encroachers. The delegation further said that with the support of BJP national leader Dr Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, the matter will soon be brought to the notice of Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy (Coal and Mines), Bandi Sanjay Kumar (Minister of State for Home), and Bhupender Yadav (Environment, Forest and Climate Change).
New Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
CM Stalin wants machine-readable voter roll for all states
CHENNAI: Charging that the BJP has turned the Election Commission of India into a poll rigging machinery, CM MK Stalin on Monday demanded the immediate release of a complete machine-readable voter roll for every state. The chief minister, in his post on the X handle, said, 'What happened in Bengaluru's Mahadevapura is not an administrative lapse; it is a calculated conspiracy to steal the people's mandate.' Stalin said 'the vote theft evidence' presented by the leader of the opposition in LS, Rahul Gandhi, exposed the scale of this fraud. Today, as Rahul Gandhi led MPs of the INDIA bloc in a march from Parliament House to the ECI, they were detained. 'We demand the immediate release of a complete machine-readable voter roll for every state, an end to politically driven deletions, and an independent probe into this subversion of our democracy,' Stalin said. Assuring that the DMK stands shoulder to shoulder in this fight, Stalin asserted, 'We will not watch in silence while the BJP robs India's democracy in broad daylight.' Meanwhile, INDIA bloc MPs from the state participated in the rally towards the ECI by carrying the placards reading 'Vaakku Thiruttu'(Vote Theft). DMK MP Tiruchy Siva said, 'We are not allowed to discuss it in the Parliament. However, we are being discredited with the allegation that we are disrupting the parliamentary proceedings. That is not true. We are fighting for justice and to uphold our democracy,' he said. He further said, 'ECI is a constitutional body to conduct the free and fair election. If they act like this, where can we go to complain? That's why we are reaching out to the people,' and questioned why they were not allowed to meet the chief election commissioner.
