CM Suvendu Adhikari at Chetla Agrani on Monday
At Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsab, the ‘chokhhudan’ (ceremonial painting of the goddess’s eyes) ritual was performed by the BJP MLA from Shyampukur, Purnima Chakraborty, who is also chairperson of the 2026 organising committee. However, soon after the election results were announced in May, several committees appointed BJP functionaries as chairpersons or advisers. For years, Mamata and other Trinamool seniors were prominent guests at major Kolkata pujas. Many of them held influential positions in organising committees, too. Among the other pujas that have invited the CM are Tridhara Sammilani, steered by former Trinamool MLA Debashis Kumar; Suruchi Sangha, which had former sports minister Aroop Biswas as its face; Hindustan Club in Gariahat, which was associated with former junior minister Chandrima Bhattacharya; and Kasba Naboday Sangha, where former Trinamool councillor Sushanta Ghosh was a key figure.
Till last year, the role was reserved for former MLA Shashi Panja, who was a senior minister in the erstwhile Mamata cabinet.
“The CM spent 45 minutes in our pandal on Sunday. Because she was our CM, “We used to invite Mamata Banerjee. Because he is the current CM, we are inviting Suvendu Adhikari now.
He has been a guiding force for us,” said Surender Sharma, secretary of Youth Association, which organises the puja. There is no politics here,” said Anjan Ukil, president of Ballygunge Cultural Association. The Mohammad Ali Park puja used to be inaugurated by Kolkata North MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay every year. This puja, minister Tapas Roy, chairperson of the organising committee, will don the mantle. “We are lucky to have Tapas-da as our chairperson. Not every organiser, however, sees the change through a partisan lens. We invite the head of the state govt.
Adhikari inaugurated a string of pujas on Sunday and Monday. He performed arati and lit a lamp at the rangoli,” said Debajit Chatterjee, general secretary of Sreebhumi Sporting Club, which will open its pandal to visitors on Tuesday evening. At Mohammad Ali Park, where MP and former Mamata loyalist Sudip Bandopadhyay was a leading light, minister Tapas Roy is scheduled to inaugurate the puja on Wednesday.
Jorasanko MLA Vijay Ojha is expected to inaugurate at least 15 pujas in his constituency.
“I am looking forward to being part of pujas in my area and beyond,” said Shyampukur MLA Chakraborty. The calendar of BJP seniors is full of invitations for inaugurations and ‘chokhhudan’.