Durga Puja a low-key affair for BJP this year in Kolkata

The disaster in the 2021 Assembly elections and the set back in the recent by-elections will make BJP to go for a such a low-key Puja this year, according to political analysts. Last year BJP organised Durga Puja at EZCC with much pomp and grandeur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Puja virtually from New Delhi

KOLKATA:Keeping in mind the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the West Bengal unit of BJP organised a Durga Puja at EXCC in Kolkata with much pomp and grandeur. The party will organise the Durga Puja this year as well but with a much lower budget and in a simplified manner.

The disaster in the 2021 Assembly elections as well as in the recent by-elections might be the reason for such a low-key Puja this year, feels political analysts. Initially, the party leadership in West Bengal was in two minds on whether they will organise Durga Puja this year or not. But on Tuesday, the party leadership announced that the Puja will be organised this year as well. Political analysts feel that this is the last attempt to reach out to the Bengal population through the greatest festival in the state.

The ruling Trinamool Congress in the last election has been successful in attaching the tag of a “non-Bengali oriented” party with BJP. Trinamool leadership has claimed that BJP is constantly trying to import the culture of Hindi- speaking belts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat in West Bengal. But this time, BJP leadership in the state is desperate to associate itself with Bengali culture.

From the results of the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections, it is clear that BJP’s aggressive “Jai Shri Ram” slogan was rejected by the general voters in West Bengal. So probably the BJP wants to associate itself with the “Jai Maa Durga” slogan this time. The decision to organise Durga Puja this year was taken at a meeting in the party’s state headquarters on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by BJP’s state vice president, Pratap Bandopadhyay, secretary, Sabyasachi Dutta, and other state-level leaders.

Bandopadhyay said that the party is not directly organising the Puja. “It is organised by party supporters and well-wishers. Last time we organised Puja for the first time. But this time the situation is difficult because of the pandemic flood situation and the attack on our supporters in different parts of the state. So we are organising a low-key Puja this year,” he said.

BJP’s newly elected state president, Sukanta Majumdar said as per ritual one a Puja is organised, as per rituals, it has to be continued for three consecutive years. So we will organise the Puja this year as well,” he said. Dutta said that since he was in charge of the Puja last year, so he was asked to attend the meeting on Tuesday.

Last year BJP organised Durga Puja at EZCC with much pomp and grandeur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Puja virtually from New Delhi. Cultural programs were organised which were participated by reputed artists. Delicious foods were served throughout the day. Mukul Roy and Kailash Vijayvargiya were the main organizers of the event last year.

Mukul Roy has already joined Trinamool Congress. After the 2021 assembly polls dictator, Vijayvargiya had hardly visited Bengal. So there was confusion as to whether they would organize Puja this year as well. But later the leadership thought that if the Puja is organized it will send a wrong signal to the people of the state, as people might think that this is a reflection of frustration because of the defeat.