BJP president J P Nadda on Saturday participated in Durga Puja festivities in West Bengal and said he would pray to the Goddess that "demonic forces" in the state are destroyed and angelic ones win and prevail in the state.

He arrived in the eastern metropolis around 11 a.m. and went to participate in a Durga Puja in Howrah.

“Maa Durga ends the demonic forces (asuri shakti) and angelic forces (Sur shakti) win. We would pray to the Goddess that in Bengal too, which is a land of culture, heritage and religion, demonic forces are defeated and good forces win in the state to ensure peace and prosperity,” Nadda said while participating in the puja in Howrah.

Nadda will be in the city and neighbouring Howrah for only a few hours before returning to New Delhi later in the day.

Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Durga Puja at Santosh Mitra Square.

He had then said he would pray to the Goddess that “corruption and atrocities” end soon in West Bengal.

The BJP, which has enhanced its presence in the state’s biggest festival, has been inviting several central leaders and union ministers this time to inaugurate community pujas across the state.

Shah had, in 2019, inaugurated the BJ Block community Durga Puja in Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of the city.

The West Bengal BJP had started its own Durga Puja celebrations in 2020, becoming the first and only party in the state to do so. Subsequent editions were organised in 2021 and 2022.

However, the state BJP announced last year that it would not organise the puja from 2023.

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