J P Nadda in Bengal to participate in Durga Puja festivities

PTI, Oct 21, 2023, 5:24 PM IST

BJP president J P Nadda on Saturday arrived in Kolkata to participate in Durga Puja festivities in West Bengal, party officials said.

He arrived in the eastern metropolis around 11 a.m. and will be in the city and neighbouring Howrah for only a few hours before returning to New Delhi later in the day.

”Nadda ji will participate in Durga Puja festivities at Howrah, Sovabajar Rajbari and at New Market area in Kolkata. He will leave the city around 3 pm,” a BJP leader said.

Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Durga Puja at Santosh Mitra Square.

The BJP, which has enhanced its presence in the state’s biggest festival, has been inviting several central leaders and union ministers this time to inaugurate several community pujas across the state.

Shah had, in 2019, inaugurated the BJ Block community Durga Puja in Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of the city.

The West Bengal BJP had started its own Durga Puja celebrations in 2020, becoming the first and only party in the state to do so.

Subsequent editions were organised in 2021 and 2022.

However, the state BJP announced last year that it would not organise the puja from 2023.