Bengal: Political parties go shopping for supporters this puja

Says who Puja is all about shoppers? The puja fever has gripped political parties alike driving them to send all their political activities on the backburner and using the festive season to rebuild the broken bridges with the mass.

Although the four-day festival will commence from Saturday, the political parties have stopped their activities since Wednesday and have engaged their leaders in mass connect. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tops the list of leaders with the busiest schedule for the Puja days. In Kolkata alone, she has inaugurated more than a dozen Durga pujas. Even Singur has taken a backseat to the Puja with Mamata asking her officials to keep the work on hold.

"Singur farmers will get back their land after the Durgapuja," Mamata's trusted aide and Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said.


Congress too has suspended its ac tivities till November 4 when the party is scheduled to hold a demonstration in Delhi to draw the attention of the national media as well as key political parties towards Trinamool's bid to topple Congress-owned elected bodies in the state.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the party's Bengal unit chief, has booked himself for pandal hopping through the Puja days in his Berhampore constituency. "We don't want to disturb anyone during the Pujas and will not go for any agitation during the four days. We will go to Delhi on November 4 to hold a demonstration there," he said.

The Marxists, despite being farthest from all things divine, have embarked on a mass-connect mission this time. CPM state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra plans to visit the Marxist literature stalls in all key pandals to mend broken ties with the people. Mishra opened such a bookstall at Netaji Nagar in South Kolkata on Thursday , while Left Front Chairman Biman Bose inaugurated a stall at Jadavpur.

BJP, which had so far stayed off Durgapujas in Kolkata, has stepped on the gas this time.

The party has set up bookstalls near important puja pandals across the city to promote its political ideology. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh inaugurated a number of pujas in the city and at his Assembly constituency Kharagpur in West Midnapore in the past two days. The party has also revamped its mouthpiece and begun selling it near puja pandals across the city.

"We have published Kamal Barta, our new mouthpiece and will be selling those through our book stalls in front of key puja pandals," said Bengal BJP leader Krishanu Mitra.