Ram Navami, the latest addition to Bengal’s packed festival calendar, will be celebrated on Thursday and Friday.
Barely a month before the state goes to the polls, nerves are taut. The Election Commission has replaced much of the top brass of the Bengal administration in the run-up to the elections, leaving police and the administration on edge. Ram Navami rallies have triggered violence in the state in recent years, adding to concerns.
The BJP and the saffron ecosystem are looking to use the occasion to mobilise support. “This year is special. The elections are barely a month away. Secondly, Bhabanipur is the most important seat in Bengal this time. We are going all out to ensure that through Ram Navami, we reach as many people as possible,” said Dhananjay Sharma, president of Shiv Shakti Mandir in Puddapukur, Bhabanipur.
He is among the organisers of a rally scheduled to begin from the mandir at 7pm on Thursday. Around 300 participants are expected to take part in the procession, which will pass through several neighbourhoods before returning to the temple.
Bhabanipur is set for a high-stakes contest, with chief minister Mamata Banerjee pitted against leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
The Trinamool, too, is stepping up its Ram Navami outreach. Ashim Basu, councillor from Ward 70, said the party would bring out a rally, as it has in previous years. “We don’t need to make a spectacle of our faith. Ram does not belong to any one party. He belongs to all of us,” Basu said.
Basu added that Annapurna Puja would also be held on the same day. “Bengal’s celebrations have always been inclusive. We will preserve that tradition.”
In Burrabazar, the build-up has transformed the
wholesale market for political accessories. Shops along Basantlal Murarka Road and Mahatma Gandhi Road — known as Pageya Patty — sell Tricolours and campaign items such as party flags, badges and scarves.
Over the past few days, Ram-themed merchandise, from flags and badges to pagdis, has taken over.
Rohit Gupta, second-generation owner of Novelty Traders, said sales had gone up in the run-up to Ram Navami. “We are selling more than 8,000 saffron flags daily. T-shirts, bandanas and scarves are moving briskly. There is strong demand for ‘Jai Shri Ram’ flags in Bengali,” he said.
Mintu Nandi, an RSS functionary from north Dum Dum, was at the store to collect 1,000 flags, 1,000 headscarves and other items for a procession scheduled to begin at 5pm on Thursday.
“We organise a large rally every year. But this time, we have been directed to mobilise as many people as we can,” he said.
Bikki and Rajesh Malik came from Kidderpore to
buy flags and scarves at Mangal Shree in the same market.
“We have to hold our ground in a minority-dominated neighbourhood. Our celebration is an assertion of our identity,” Rajesh said.
Trinamool’s Vivek Gupta, MLA from Jorasanko, leads one of the largest rallies, from a Hanuman temple in Raja Katra, Burrabazar, to a Ram temple on CR Avenue.
“Modiji has switched from ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to ‘Jai Maa Durga’ with an eye on Bengal. We don’t believe in such flippancy. Nobody has a monopoly on Ram. Like every year, our shobhayatra will be inclusive, in keeping with Bengal’s spirit,” Gupta said.