Artists perform during the Mahalaya Durga Puja celebrations organised by State government, at Eden Gardens on October 10, 2026
| Photo Credit: PTI
The West Bengal government organised a massive Durga Puja event at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Saturday (October 10, 2026), with about 40,000 people in attendance. The much-awaited event on the occasion of Mahalaya marked the beginning of the first Durga Puja celebration of the Bharatiya Janata Party after taking power in the State.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who was present at the event along with his Council of Ministers, said, “All Durga Pujas will follow the proper religious traditions this year,” taking a swipe at his predecessor Mamata Banerjee.
“This is the first time pujas have not been inaugurated before time. This is our tradition; everybody has to follow the religious scripture and traditions. Every religion has its own rules and regulations. No Chief Minister has enough power to change the dates of religious events on their own will,” Mr. Adhikari said.
Mr. Adhikari had said that his government would not allow a single Durga Puja in the State to inaugurate their festivities before Mahalaya.
28% rise in community Pujas
The Chief Minister added that 12,400 more community Durga Pujas are being organised in the State this year, after the new government came into power. In 2025, there were 45,000 Durga Pujas under the last government.
This time, Mr. Adhikari had also appealed to big Durga Pujas not to seek assistance from the State government. During the Trinamool regime, Ms. Banerjee had started the practice of giving cash incentives to community Durga Pujas since 2018, a practice that the BJP government has not discontinued.
“Over 200 Puja committees in Kolkata did not take the financial help, responding to my appeal to them to let go of this financial assistance,” Mr. Adhikari said.
PM, HM absent
When the grand inaugural event was initially conceived, the Chief Minister had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be present. However, the protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday meant that neither Mr. Modi nor Union Home Minister Amit Shah were present at the event.
West Bengal Governor R.N. Ravi, along with several State Ministers were in attendance, along with several well known actors, religious leaders, and artists, including exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin.
‘New sunrise for West Bengal’
The cultural event at Eden Gardens, which included drone shows and performances by artists such as Shantanu Moitra and Kaushiki Chakraborty, went on for several hours. Governor Ravi said that the arrangements were a testament to the fact that the current government is dedicated to Maa Durga.
“Because of Maa Durga’s blessings, West Bengal now has a new sunrise and has a government which believes and prays to Maa Durga. Just a few months back, there was hopelessness here, but today that has changed, and there is hope in West Bengal now… Even people who come from outside, delegations who meet me say that this is a great time to invest in Bengal, this is Maa Durga’s blessing,” the Governor said.
Published – October 10, 2026 10:15 pm IST