Ganesh pujas in Salt Lake shift change colour
Times of India | 14 September 2026Two of the pujas were earlier associated with former Bidhannagar mayor Anita Mondal and former deputy mayor and ex-chairperson Sabyasachi Dutta, while the third was helmed by former Trinamool councillor Anindya Chatterjee, who has now switched allegiance to the BJP. Two other pujas, earlier led by former TMC councillors, are not being held this year.
At Baisakhi, the Ganesh Puja started by Mondal is being managed this year by senior BJP functionaries. The 12-year-old puja was inaugurated by state BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya on Saturday evening, while chief minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to visit the puja on Tuesday.
Pradyumna Sinha, president of the puja organising committee, Ward 30 Residents Welfare Association, said they had scaled down the grandeur by avoiding subscriptions from residents and relying solely on contributions from donations and a fair. However, he said the puja would retain its spirit. “Our CM is very closely associated with the puja. He inaugurated it as a minister during the TMC govt when Anita Mondal had started the puja. He has promised he will be present,” said Sinha.
At Salt Lake’s BF Block, the puja organised by Maitri Sangha, which was started by Dutta, has also changed hands. Dutta, currently in prison, had been at the helm of the puja and was known to make it a grand affair by roping in actors and singers from Bollywood. This year, the organising committee has been reshuffled, with BJP functionaries close to the local MLA and state health minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay now holding the command. “Our MLA is out of the city. Else, he would have definitely come for the inauguration. But we have sent invites to several state ministers as well,” said Raja Chakraborty, a senior functionary of the puja committee.
The puja, which is being held for 18 years, had earlier become known for high-profile inaugurations. Last year, actors Karishma Kapoor and Koel Mullick, along with singer Kunal Ganjawala, had inaugurated it.
“Now the concept has changed. This is a puja for the people of the locality now. Singer Poushali Banerjee will be here with her folk songs during the inauguration and the following day, we will have a performance by a team of dhamsa artists from West Midnapore,” said another organiser, Pratik Pareek. He added that the BMC commissioner and Bidhannagar Police commissioner would also be felicitated at the puja.
Former TMC councillor Chatterjee, meanwhile, has given his 17th-year Ganesh Puja an overt saffron touch after joining BJP. The pandal has been themed on Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple and decorated with saffron flags. The puja will be inaugurated by heads of Iskcon, Bharat Sevashram Sangha and Ramakrishna Mission. Kartik Maharaj, who heads the 10-member road-renaming committee by the state, will also be present at the puja.
