Mamata’s carnival push as north Bengal reels under floods gives Opposition a handle

The Mamata Banerjee government’s decision to go ahead with its Durga Puja carnival on Sunday (October 5, 2025) even as large parts of north Bengal were reeling under floods and at least 23 deaths were reported in Darjeeling gave Opposition parties a handle to target West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

While the Chief Minister announced that she along with the State’s Chief Secretary Manoj Pant will be visiting north Bengal on Monday (October 6, 2025), her presence at the carnival on Kolkata’s Red Road evoked sharp criticism.

About 116 big ticket Durga Pujas of Kolkata participated in the Durga Puja Carnival and thousands of people gathered to watch the mega cultural event. Each Durga Puja Pandal was given three minutes to showcase their idols, themes and a brief cultural programme.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by her senior ministerial colleagues, attended the carnival which continued for several hours. Several film personalities joined the Chief Minister as she clapped to the beats of drums as the Durga Puja committees performed on the Red Road.

Ms. Banerjee started the practice of organising Durga Puja carnival in 2017 and in 2018 she started giving honorarium to Durga Puja committees. In 2021, Durga Puja in Kolkata was included in the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Heritage. The honorarium to Durga Puja committees has increased 11 times from ₹10,000 in 2018 to ₹1.10 lakh in 2025.

Commenting on the developments, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari asked as to why the Chief Minister did not immediately go to north Bengal. “Why isn’t the Chief Minister eager to go to North Bengal quickly? Is it because there is no sacrificial goat named DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) to blame there?” Mr. Adhikari asked.

The BJP leader claimed that the Chief Minister doesn’t understand what issues should be given priority. “Even after Kolkata was flooded and some innocent people died from electrocution, she was busy with Puja inaugurations, and now she’s busy with carnival,” he added.

Mr. Adhikari also alleged step motherly treatment towards the people of North Bengal by the government. He claimed that at least 50,000 people from Cooch Behar to Kalimpong have become homeless and 21 people have died.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said that today was not a day of festivities and the Chief Minister should have cancelled the Durga Puja carnival and gone to north Bengal to stand with the people affected by the floods.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary Md. Salim also questioned the holding of Durga Puja carnival when the State is witnessing such a natural disaster.

“When floods and devastation in North Bengal are causing a procession of deaths, the city of Kolkata is holding a festive carnival,” Mr. Salim said.