No Puja inauguration on Mahalaya, Mamata Banerjee on ‘bigger’ mission in Delhi

Kolkata/New Delhi: Mahalaya for the last 13–14 years was all about Didi. The firebrand erstwhile West Bengal Chief Minister hopped from pandal to pandal, leaving admirers besotted with her painting skills as she displayed her artistic brilliance, giving finer touches to Maa Durga's mesmerising eyes.

But wait, out of power and reeling from a barrage of defections, Mamata Banerjee may look like a pale shadow of her once-dominant self.

Yet her desperation to stay relevant may prompt her to be posted in Delhi for a 'bigger cause': saving democracy.

Hence, no Puja inaugurations this year and no pandal visits either.

‘I am not going to visit any Puja mandap this year, though I have invitations,’ Banerjee said, marking a departure from the Mahalaya routine that had become a familiar feature of her years as West Bengal CM.

Instead of touring Kolkata's prominent Puja pandals, the Trinamool Congress chief is in Delhi amid a political confrontation over electoral issues.

On Saturday, October 10, Banerjee was taken inside a police van from Jantar Mantar along with senior TMC leaders Derek O’Brien and Mala Roy during a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The protest centres on allegations concerning electoral roll revisions and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Opposition leaders have raised concerns about the process, alleging that it could undermine electoral fairness. The Election Commission's actions have become the subject of a wider political dispute.

For Banerjee, the change of scene is striking. In 2025, while still chief minister, she inaugurated several prominent Durga Pujas, including Tala Prattoy, Hatibagan Sarbojanin and Sreebhumi Sporting Club.

Her schedule also included visits to prominent pandals such as Selimpur Pally, 95 Pally Jodhpur Park, Babubagan and Chetla Agrani.

At Chetla Agrani, she participated in the traditional chokhu daan ritual, associated with painting the eyes of Goddess Durga's idol.

Her annual appearances at prominent pandals had become a familiar part of Bengal's festive calendar, combining cultural participation with the public visibility that came with being CM.

This Mahalaya, however, the familiar inauguration trail has given way to a protest site in the national capital.

By choosing Delhi over festive engagements despite invitations, Banerjee has shifted attention to the political significance of her presence alongside opposition figures.

Is this simply a show of solidarity with the protesters, or could it signal a broader attempt to bring opposition leaders together around electoral issues? No formal announcement of a new political initiative has been made, and any suggestion of a larger strategy remains speculative.

For now, the contrast is unmistakable. The leader who once spent Mahalaya inaugurating pandals and adding artistic touches to Maa Durga's eyes is spending this year's festivities amid a political confrontation at Jantar Mantar.

Whether the Delhi mission becomes the beginning of something bigger remains to be seen. The Puja invitations may have arrived, but this year, Didi's Mahalaya story is unfolding far from Kolkata's pandals.