The festivities centring around this year’s Durga Puja have long begun, and Kolkata has already started swaying to the beats of dhakis (traditional drummers) with thousands of people hitting the streets, hopping from one pandal to another in their new attires.
The Durga Puja officially started with Bodhan (the ritual performed on Sasthi, the sixth day, to awaken the Mother Goddess) on Friday.
While this is the first Durga Puja after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power with a sweeping victory in May this year, ousting the 15-year-old Mamata Banerjee administration, this year's celebrations and festivities have their own share of praise and controversy.
HT take a look at what has changed this Durga Puja compared to what used to be during the TMC’s regime, apart from the number of community pujas, which has shot up from around 45,000 in 2025 to around 58,000 this year.
A grand Mahalaya to start with
During her tenure, former chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee inaugurated some of the big-ticket puja pandals, patronised by her heavyweight party leaders, even before Mahalaya – which marks the transition of the Pitru Paksha to Devi. Some Hindu rights organisations had accused her of hurting religious sentiments.
This year, however, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the inaugurations of community puja pandals will be held only after Mahalaya.
To mark the day, the state information and cultural affairs department and the state tourism department held a mega cultural event featuring a drone show and fireworks at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Mahalaya.
The BJP government is also planning a major Bijoya Sammilani (the traditional gathering after Durga Puja) in which food counters from all the districts will be set up.
Following the Sanatani tradition
The ruling BJP and some Hindu rights groups had issued guidelines on the theme-pujas and idols, urging people and organisers not to adopt any theme that may hurt religious sentiments.
The result was that the making of theme-based idols at Kumartuli, the artisan’s enclave in north Kolkata where most of the idols take shape, dropped from around 150 in 2025 to less than 10 this year. This year, most of the idols stick to the traditional form, which strictly adheres to scriptural rules regarding the Goddess’ posture, facial expressions, colour, weapons, and ten arms.
“We need to bring back the traditional pandals. In the name of theme-based pujas, we cannot do anything that is distorted and violates the sanctity,” a VHP leader in West Bengal had earlier stated.
On September 7, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari appealed to the puja organisers not to choose any themes for their pandals that hurt the tradition, culture and sanctity.
Even the cranes used to lift the big idols during immersion have been replaced with trolleys and conveyor belts this year to preserve the idols' sanctity.
Doing away with practices of TMC government
The new government has already cancelled the Durga Puja carnival, a mega road show in which around 100 prominent clubs showcased their idols and held live performances on the Red Road. It was Banerjee’s pet project, which she introduced in 2016.
In 2018, the Mamata Banerjee administration introduced financial assistance to puja clubs, increasing the amount from ₹10,000 to ₹1,10,000 in 2025.
Instead of stopping financial assistance to puja clubs overnight, Adhikari requested that the big puja organisers in Kolkata not apply for funds. He, however, said that the smaller pujas may apply. The clubs responded to the chief minister’s request.
Until last year, Banerjee inaugurated a few hundred pujas, both in person and virtually, across the state.
“It was primarily a one-woman show. Banerjee went on a puja-inauguration spree starting even before Mahalaya. This time, however, the chief minister and senior BJP leaders are inaugurating puja pandals while remaining present physically at the pandals,” said a member of the Forum for Durgotsav in Kolkata.
The goof-ups and thumbs-ups
While alpona (drawing traditional patterns and motifs) on the roads has become popular during the festive season over the years, the new government urged some corporate firms to paint a few flyovers with rainbow colours to give them a vibrant look.
A smart monsoon shower, however, washed off the paint and resulted in some accidents. Even though no one was injured, the state government had to resort to a cover-up. While road studs were introduced on one flyover, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation had to use a mechanical sweeper to scrape off the paint on another flyover. In Asansol in West Burdwan, too, the paint was removed from a major intersection as a precautionary measure.
Posters have gone up announcing that an organisation in Bidhannagar is organising a Durga Puja and will also celebrate Dussehra on October 20. Adhikari is scheduled to perform the Ravan Dahan at the star-studded program.
“Spot Maa Durga in the “GRANDEST DURGA PUJA CELEBRATION IN INDIA”! For the past few days, everyone has been busy counting the hands of Maa Durga in posters. But now, in this self-proclaimed “GRANDEST DURGA PUJA CELEBRATION IN INDIA”, Maa Durga herself, along with her entire family, is missing from the star-studded VVIP poster! Has Maa Durga been left out of her own festival? We’ve never seen anything like this in Bengal before,” the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress wrote on X.