Durga Puja organisers who do not need the government’s “paltry dole” should not be offered it, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Friday.

The Trinamool government began offering financial grants to puja organisers in 2018, starting with ₹10,000. The grant was increased over the years, to ₹85,000 in 2024 and ₹1.1 lakh last year.

Suvendu’s remark suggested that the BJP government was not entirely averse to retaining the much-criticised Mamata Banerjee-era grant, at least for some puja organisers.

Suvendu said the state would back organisers unable to organise a puja without
financial aid.

He said no decision had been taken yet. “Regarding Durga Puja, I have not started discussions. I will. The ministry of information and cultural affairs is with me, and I have a minister of state,” Suvendu said. “Ami nishchoi alaap alochona korbo (I will definitely hold discussions).”

Bengal’s biggest festival begins on October 17 this year.

There are nearly 43,000 officially recognised Durga Pujas in Bengal, around 3,000 of them in Calcutta.

Suvendu’s comments come as several major organisers have begun discussing themes for their pujas this year.

“Ekta katha shudhu bolbo. Oi shamanya sarkari artha jader proyojon nei, amar mone hoy tader dewar-o darkar nei (I would say just one thing. Those who do not require the paltry government aid, they should not be given the sum),” Suvendu said.

“Jara ei artha-r janyo pujo korte paren na, ba parben na, tader pashei sarkar thakbe (The government will stand by those who cannot organise a puja for want of money),” he said.

Suvendu added that Durga Pujas would be held in greater numbers this year. “Pujo hobe, aro beshi shankha-e hobe.”

Since the BJP came to power in Bengal, the future of the grant and the fate of several high-profile pujas linked to former Trinamool heavyweights have been among the most discussed subjects.

Two prominent organisers are in custody in alleged corruption cases — Sujit Bose of Sreebhumi, former Bidhannagar MLA and minister, and Swarup Biswas of Suruchi Sangha, brother of former minister Aroop Biswas and an influential figure in the entertainment industry.

Some organisers welcomed what they described as a flexible stand on the grant. “What the chief minister said makes sense. Puja organisers with budgets ranging from ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore do not require state support. But those with smaller budgets, say between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh, benefit immensely from the assistance,” said Sandipan Banerjee, president of the Forum for Durgotsab, an umbrella body of Puja organisers.

“If implemented, it would be a great move,” he said.