State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Saturday that Lord Ram was deeply entwined with Bengal’s religio-cultural festivals like Durga Puja and Kali Puja.
While addressing a public rally in Durgapur on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised slogans of “Jai Maa Kali” and “Jai Maa Durga”, instead of usual “Jai Shri Ram” chants.
“A debate has been stirred over whether the Prime Minister of the country has left Ram and invoked Durga. Ram is deeply entwined with the lives and practices of the people of India. For example, on the day before Kali Puja, we eat 14 types of leafy vegetables. Why is that? Because it is believed that on that day, Ram returned from exile, during which he survived on leaves and herbs. And the Durga Puja we celebrate — Akaal Bodhan — is mythologically a puja initiated by Ram,” said the Bengal BJP chief at a programme organised by the lawyers’ community aligned with the saffron camp.
Multiple BJP insiders said Modi’s choice to invoke famous Bengal deities was also a calculated move rooted in regional political strategy.
“When Modiji is in Odisha, he always says ‘Jai Jagannath’ to connect with Odia people. It’s a political strategy for any senior national leader to invoke the names of popular local figures, deities, or luminaries to better connect with the people of a particular region. That doesn’t mean he is bypassing Ram and taking shelter under Maa Durga or Kali,” said a senior BJP leader.
Many within the BJP believe that although the party tried to invoke Ram and the mythology of Ram Navami, a large section of Bengal’s population, particularly the educated middle class, still sees it rooted in north Indian culture.
After Bhattacharya on Saturday reiterated Ram’s link to Bengali culture, many BJP leaders raised their eyebrows, wondering whether the party’s old guard was trying to strike a balance.
“We should not forget that there are lakhs of people from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and other regions of the Hindi belt living in Bengal. For them, Ram and Ram Navami are highly significant. If there’s a perception that the party is abandoning Ram, it could seriously impact our base ahead of the next year’s Assembly polls,” said a BJP source.
Although many of these families have lived in Bengal for generations, a large section of these so-called “non-Bengalis” are believed to be part of the BJP’s core vote bank.
Trinamool, however, mocked Bhattacharya’s remarks, particularly in the context of Modi invoking Durga over Ram.
“The BJP leadership is completely confused about whose name to invoke. Earlier, Modi would chant Ram’s name. Now, after the 2024 general election, the Prime Minister has started invoking Durga and Kali. I am confident that after the 2026 Assembly elections, he’ll chant ‘Jai Bangla’,” said Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty.