As scheduled, the touch and go visit to Calcutta for home minister Amit Shah on the auspicious Dwitiya of Devi Paksh, where his 20-minute stay at the Santosh Mitra Square Sarbojonin Puja which he inaugurated, was laden with political innuendos although the BJP’s perceived second-in-command made a promise “not to talk politics” in the festive atmosphere of the state.

An illuminated community Durga Puja pandal, designed on the theme of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, after its inauguration by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in Calcutta. PTI picture.

“Today I will not talk about politics. I will keep coming to Bengal (on later occasions), I will talk politics (then) and put in our best effort to facilitate a political change in this state,” Shah said in his short speech ahead of inaugurating the Sealdah pandal which has already caught public attention for impressively replicating the under-construction Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

“I will get inside the pandal and stand before the Maa Durga to pray and seek strength from her so that we can ensure quick eradication of corruption, injustice and torture from Bengal.” Shah said, leaving little to imagination who his targeted opponent was.

Amit Shah during the inauguration of a community Durga Puja pandal. The Telegraph Online picture.

The home minister lauded citizens for inaugurating a Ram Mandir in a north Calcutta pandal long before the scheduled inauguration of the original temple in Ayodhya in January next year.

Shah landed in the city around 4pm from Gujarat via poll-bound Chhattisgarh and reached the Santosh Mitra Square puja pandal around 4.55 PM. He left the venue around 5.15 PM and reached the RCTC grounds for a chopper to the city airport and departed for Delhi at around 6 PM.

While Shah was flanked at the puja venue by the state’s leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, and the president of the BJP’s Bengal unit, Sukanta Majumdar, besides other state leaders at the pandal, a prominent leader of the party, Dilip Ghosh, was conspicuous by his absence.

The fanfare of the party over Durga Puja inaugurations in the state has perceptively diminished over the last couple of years compared to, say, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal involvement in the festival ahead of the 2021 state polls. Although state BJP sources maintain that that party president JP Nadda and senior leaders like Smriti Irani and Dharmendra Pradhan are scheduled to make their visits later this week and participate in the festivities and public relations events, insiders admit that the party is far from matching up to the involvement of their rival Trinamul leaders in terms of taking ownership of community Pujas of the state.

TMC MP Santanu Sen remarked, "Those who had once attacked the ethos and culture of West Bengal, alleging that permission was not given to hold Durga Puja, are now coming to the state to inaugurate pandals." Before spreading "unfounded allegations" against West Bengal, Shah should look at the "worsening" law and order situation in BJP-ruled states, especially Uttar Pradesh, Sen said.

In 2019, Shah had inaugurated a community Durga Puja in Salt Lake, located on the eastern fringes of the city.

The West Bengal BJP initiated its own Durga Puja celebrations in 2020, becoming the first and only party in the state to do so.

Subsequent editions were held in 2021 and 2022. However, the state BJP announced last year that it would not organise the puja from 2023.