Trinamul has arranged a “mega” festival on the lines of Basanta Utsav after Visva-Bharati decided to stay away from organising the official event for the fifth year in a row.

The event in this election season aims to woo lakhs of tourists who have already reached the varsity town.

Besides the main event, the ruling dispensation had lined up at least half a dozen small events in various pockets of Santiniketan and Bolpur, as the local people do not want to miss out on the flavours of the traditional Basanta Utsav.

“The people of Bengal know that Trinamul stands firm in upholding the culture and tradition of Rabindranath Tagore. That is why we have arranged the mega event in Sonajhuri forest and several others in and around Santiniketan. I, along with our party’s workers and leaders, will participate in each of those events on Monday,” said Trinamul’s Bolpur MP Asit Mal fielded again by his party for the 2024 polls.

Organising Basanta Utsav, which coincides with Holi, by various groups and organisations started in 2021, after Visva-Bharati stopped organising the event in 2020 amid the outbreak of Covid-19. The authorities did not organise the festival in 2021 citing the pandemic and in 2022 and 2023 citing lack of infrastructure.

This time, Visva-Bharati authorities decided not to hold the festival to “avoid damage” to the campus, newly declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

A Trinamul leader in Bolpur said the party organised an unofficial Basanta Utsav in 2021 at a different location to woo the enthusiastic tourists and locals, keeping in mind Assembly polls that year. The ruling party this time does not want to miss the political opportunity ahead of the general election by organising the event on a large scale.

“Already, Santiniketan is flooded with tourists. There will be around three lakh people who will be in Santiniketan on the day of Holi alone. So it is a good time for the party to ensure people aren’t deprived. It will help the party to send out the message that our government and the party are dedicated to the culture and ethos of Bengal, unlike the BJP,” a senior Trinamul leader said.

Birbhum police and administration have taken measures to manage traffic on Monday

“Last year, traffic choked the town because of the small unofficial event. This time, the event in Sonajhuri will be a lot bigger. That is why we have issued guidelines on traffic and road closures,” said a cop in Santiniketan.

Babu Das, a Trinamul leader, said they arranged e-rickshaws, CCTV cameras, a medical camp and drinking water for tourists

BJP leaders claimed Trinamul’s efforts would go in vain. “People won’t be distracted by Trinamul’s efforts. They are fed up with corruption,” said Bolpur BJP leader Sanyasi Charan Mondal.