PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate a virtual puja on October 22.
Calcutta:
The Durga Puja is once again poised to turn into a political battleground between the ruling Bengal party, Trinamool Congress, and its main rival in the state, the BJP. Last year, Mr. Amit Shah inaugurated a Durga Puja in the salt lake of Calcutta amidst much controversy. This time, a few months before the Assembly elections, the BJP deploys Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had the first-comer advantage. Today she practically inaugurated 69 Durga Puja pandals in 10 districts. The inaugural frenzy will continue over the next two days, remotely and in person.
On October 22, the Prime Minister will participate virtually in a Durga Puja hosted by Mahila Morcha of the BJP and his cultural wing at EZCC, a cultural center run by the central government’s Ministry of Culture.
October 22 is “Shashti” – the first day of Durga Puja and PM Modi will greet the people of Bengal on several virtual platforms as he begins five days of worship.
The venue will be decorated like a typical Durga pandal with a full size idol of Goddess Durga.
Mr. Sambit Patra can recite the “Chandi path” of the scriptures. But that plan could change to prevent Mr. Patra from being labeled an outsider. It is a label that Trinamool is increasingly using for BJP leaders, so that a local Purohit can initiate worship.
Last year, the BJP made a concerted effort to make an entry into the pandal circuit of Durga Puja in Bengal but not, according to the sources, with runaway success.
In two major pandals in Calcutta, BJP leaders who were members of Puja’s organizing committees were sidelined, BJP claims, by Trinamool’s pressure tactics.
Trinamool has always denied these accusations and Home Secretary Amit Shah inaugurated a pandal puja at BJ Block Salt Lake. But the organizing committee and the neighborhood were divided on this matter.
The BJP says the local civic organization run by Trinamool has even threatened to withdraw its services from the pandal.
So this year the BJP has no other alternative but to organize its own Durga Puja, according to sources. BJP head of state Dilip Ghosh insists the party is not directly involved in holding a Durga puja, but if the cultural wing and the women’s wing want to do something , they are welcome.
Mr. Ghosh clearly chooses his battles. The Trinamool has a huge advantage because over the past 10 years Mamata Banerjee has made her presence in Puja pandals so strong that during some pandals in the past Durga idols looked like the Chief Minister, dressed like her. and even carried the Hawai Chappals brand.
The BJP is also aware that entering the Durga Puja circuit is a challenge given that the government has extended cash incentives to the Durga Puja committees. There are some 37,000 Puja pandals in the state today and the Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 50,000 to each.
Durga Puja is such an integral part of Bengali life, culture, and psyche that BJP cannot stray from it. He must compete for space and the Prime Minister himself seems ready to join the battle.
