Several Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata including a few patronised by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders until last year will forgo the ₹1 lakh festival-related state grant following an appeal made by West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari.
A handful of puja committees have also decided to donate an equal amount of ₹1 lakh to the chief minister’s relief fund.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government reduced the state government’s grant to community Durga Pujas in the state from ₹110,000 given by the previous Mamata Banerjee-administration in 2025 to ₹100,000 this year.
Trimming state aid
Adhikari also appealed to big-budget puja committees to forgo the grant.
“A puja committee needs to have a minimum budget of ₹10 lakh to organise Durga Puja in the cities and around ₹5 lakh in the villages. The state government’s tradition of giving grants to community pujas created a dependency and expectation among the organisers. I don’t want to impose any restrictions. I am keeping the grant but at the same time would appeal to big budget pujas not to avail it,” Adhikari said earlier this week.
Adhikari’s appeal resonated among some organisers.
{{/usCountry}}Adhikari’s appeal resonated among some organisers.
{{/usCountry}}“On moral grounds, we have decided not to apply for the state grant. Until last year we had to bear additional financial burden as arrangements had to be made for the puja carnival, started by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee,” said Kajal Sarkar a member of 77-year-old Bosepukur Sitala Mandir Durga Puja.
“As this year, the carnival (a procession to display the idols on a prominent Kolkata road) has been cancelled, we would be saving the money. Also, the power bill has been waived entirely,” Sarkar said. Adhikari had earlier cancelled the carnival.
“We believe that there are many small-budget pujas which should get this fund. By waiving the power bill and the fire license fees, the chief minister has saved us more than ₹2 lakhs,” said Anirban Ghosh, secretary of the 61-year-old Behala Friends Club puja.
Several other puja committees such as Tala Pratyay, Santoshpur Lake Pally, Santosh Mitra Square, Chorbagan Sarbojanin, Naktala Udayan Sangha, and Phoolbagan Sarbojanin have also decided to forgo the grant. These are among prominent pujas in Kolkata.
“The chief minister has made an appeal to the big-ticket pujas. We have decided to forgo the state grant. Instead, we have plans to hand over a cheque of an equal amount of ₹1 lakh to the chief minister as a donation to his relief fund when he comes to inaugurate our puja,” said Kinshuk Moitra, assistant secretary of Suruchi Sangha, which had a budget of more than 50 lakh in 2025.
Changing political patronage
Until last year, Suruchi Sangha was patronised by state minister Arup Biswas. During the TMC’s regime several pujas were inaugurated by Mamata Banerjee. This time, many organisers have invited Adhikari to inaugurate pujas instead.
With the shift in political equations in West Bengal after the recently held state assembly elections, in which the BJP came to power with a sweeping victory ousting the 15-year-old TMC regime, many Durga puja committees, which had allied with the TMC over the years, are now preparing to prove their allegiance to the new ruling party.
Some prominent puja committees in Kolkata have removed TMC leaders from their list of functionaries and included BJP leaders. Others invited BJP leaders for their “khuti puja,” which marks the ceremonial start of the preparations.
Around 3,000 pujas are held in Kolkata by the community clubs and around 42,000 pujas are organised in the districts. In addition, pujas are held at several homes, apartment buildings and smaller clubs. The Mamata Banerjee-government also gave financial assistance to the community pujas.
The BJP has long attempted to make inroads into this mega cultural ecosystem of the state, which has remained a domain of the TMC over the past decade. In 2023, the BJP had even asked its state leaders to get be associated with puja committees.