Written by Sweety KumariKolkata | September 22, 2025 08:43 AM IST 4 min readChief Minister Mamata Banerjee invoked “Bangla-asmita” as she began inaugurating Durga Puja Pandals on the eve of Mahalaya on Saturday. (ANI Photo)Even as West Bengal plunged into the 10-day-long festive spirit of Durga Puja with Mahalaya on Sunday, there was no pause in the war of words between political rivals, TMC and BJP – given that the Assembly elections in the state are just a few months away. Between the Puja wishes for people, parties, and their leaders pushed their political rhetoric.After Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee invoked “Bangla-asmita” as she began inaugurating Durga Puja Pandals on the eve of Mahalaya on Saturday – she is set to inaugurate close to 3,000 pandals across the state in the next five days – Opposition BJP hit back, “offended”by her decision to unveil Puja during Pitra Paksha.Mahalaya symbolises the end of Pitra Paksha and the beginning of Devi Paksha.“No one has seen Matri Boron (the unveiling of Goddess Durga) in Pitri Pakhsa. People in Bengal have always welcomed Maa Durga fromDevipaksha suchna. The kind of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has created, people have not seen before,” state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya took a swipe at TMC supremo after he took a dip in the Ganga for tarpan on Sunday.His colleague, BJP MLA from Nandigram and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was more critical. “There will be no compromise on Puja celebration. There will be no secularism. Puja should be done as per the Hindu culture. She inaugurated the Puja before Mahalaya,” Adhikari said. He went on to accuse the chief minister of appeasing the minorities. “She (Mamata) was wearing a hijab. If she was covering her head from rain, people use umbrellas for that. She is fit and strong enough to carry her own umbrella. She always does things keeping a particular community in mind,” the BJP MLA alleged.TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, in a video message on X, wished people on the occasion of Mahalaya, and then added: “Those who had been making false claims that Durga Puja is not being allowed to be celebrated in Bengal, are now saying the state is gripped by Durga Puja spirit and fervour as they arrive for public meetings. They are making the about turn ever since UNESCO conferred heritage status to Bengal’s Durga Puja.”The TMC MP, considered Number 2 in the party, was alluding to previous comments by BJP leaders like Amit Shah about Durga Puja organisers allegedly facing difficulty in celebrating the festival in the state, and a recent observation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that, while visiting the city, he could sense the festivities in the air.Story continues below this adTMC minister Shashi Panja doubled down. “He (Suvendu Adhikari) is not a crusader of the Hindu religion. Mamata Banerjee herself clarified that she was just inaugurating pandals. Out of jealousy, they (BJP leaders) are yet again trying to spread misinformation. How are they going to worship Maa Durga with such lies? The people of Bengal have understood their agenda, and hence, they just don’t care about such statements. Those who used to say that Bengal doesn’t celebrate Durga Puja are now accepting that we do and trying to participate in the festival and get mileage,” Panja said.While inaugurating a Puja Pandal on Saturday, the chief minister had spoken about Bengali pride and harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in other states, mostly those ruled by the BJP. “I always respect other languages. I cannot agree with the harassment of our workers who speak in Bengali in other states. They are specialised workers, and that is why they are hired in different states,” she said, noting that about 22 lakh people from Bengal work outside the state while more than 1.5 crore workers from other states come to Bengal for work.On Sunday, she wished the people on Mahalaya and posted a music video on the social media platform. Mamata Banerjee has written the song and composed the music for it as well."জাগো দুর্গা, জাগো দশপ্রহরণধারিণী"তর্পণে, আগমনে ও আবাহনে সকলকে জানাই মহালয়ার শুভকামনা।এই উপলক্ষে আপনাদের সবার সঙ্গে আমার লেখা ও সুর করা একটি পুজোর নতুন গান শেয়ার করে নিচ্ছি। pic.twitter.com/2RoZDJcRTp— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 20, 2025The chief minister also launched the autumn edition of ‘Jago Bangla’ newspaper of Trinamool Congress and lent her voice to a devotional song along with Minister of State for Tourism and Information and Cultural Affairs Indranil Sen, who is a known singer.She then offered puja at Lake Kalibari and also inaugurated their Durga Puja organised on the opposite side.Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd