The Trinamool Congress leadership in north Bengal has been riding the festival wave, a move that the BJP has criticised as a desperate “image makeover” in view of the crucial 2026 Assembly elections.

Gautam Deb, Siliguri mayor and a veteran Trinamool Congress leader from the region, said he attended more than 350 Pujas — both Durga Puja and Kali Puja — this year as well as inaugurated around 100-odd pandals.

“I have visited more than 350 pandals and inaugurated around 100 of them,” Deb said on Sunday.

The mayor is now busy distributing items for Chhath Puja, which will begin
on Monday.

The Trinamool veteran said that considering the ongoing price rise of essential items, he and his team were distributing coconuts, wheat, vegetables, fruits and food grains to the Chhath devotees.

“The councillors across different wards of the Siliguri Municipality Corporation (SMC) have also taken the initiative of distributing clothes and other essential Chhath Puja in the respective wards,” added Deb.

There are 47 wards within the SMC’s jurisdiction.

According to sources, there are 10 designated Chhath ghats along the banks of the Mahananda river.

A source said that the civic body has arranged cleaning drives, lighting and medical support for the festival at the Chhath ghats.

The BJP had received substantial votes in Siliguri in the previous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Trinamool’s festive outreach has not gone unnoticed by the BJP leadership, which lashed out at Trinamool.

Shankar Ghosh, the BJP MLA of Siliguri, stated that Trinamool was desperately trying to change the narrative ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for next year.

Ghosh alleged that the state government was all this while working against the interests of one particular community but now that the Assembly elections were approaching, they were trying to change the narrative.

“They are now trying to build a new narrative just ahead of the elections for the Bengal Assembly,” said Ghosh.

The Trinamool leadership’s extensive outreach also drew criticism from Arun Mondal, the president of the BJP’s Siliguri (organisational) district committee.

“Instead of engaging in festival optics, the BJP chose to assist flood and landslide-affected families and stand beside them this year. Our (Darjeeling) MP Raju Bista is constantly standing behind the affected families and visiting them regularly,”
said Mondal.

Asked for a response, Trinamool leader Deb said that they believed in harmony among all religions.

“We want to spread the message of harmony and goodwill among all religions. After Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Diwali we are now supporting Chhath Puja devotees, and will do the same during Christmas,” said Deb.