Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday had left for Digha to see the preparations for the annual chariot festival of Lord Jagannath scheduled on June 27.
The West Bengal government is set to hold Puri like Rath Yatra in Digha and Chief Minister along with several ministers of her cabinet had reached Digha to flag off the annual chariot festival.
According to Trinamool Congress (TMC) sources, the Chief Minister is likely to attend ‘Netra Utsav’ on June 26 which normally takes place a day before Rath Yatra after 14 days' seclusion of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra.
Meanwhile, to counter the prasad of Digha Jagannath temple, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari announced prasad of Puri Jagannath temple will be distributed for the people of the state.
“Ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee is trying to pretend as Hindu to get votes. People should keep a watch and see what Mamata does to establish herself as a Hindu. Prasad from Jagannath temple Puri will be kept in Gauranga temple in Tamluk and will be distributed,” said Adhikari.
Mentioning that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win all 16 Assembly seats from East Midnapore, the Leader of Opposition stated that he will attend a chain of Ratha Yatra programmes from Kolkata to Midnapore’s Mecheda on Ratha Yatra.
Notably, the BJP and the TMC are at loggerheads ever since the building of the Lord Jagannath temple at Digha. While Adhikari terms it as a ‘piece of art and sculpture’, TMC calls it a temple replica of Puri Jagannath Dham.
On the other hand, ISKCON vice president Radharaman Das speaks about the preparedness of Chariot Festival to FPJ.
“The three chariots will begin their journey from the temple premises and cover approximately 1km to reach Mashir Bari. The chariots are named after Puri chariots. Trial runs have been conducted of the chariots to check whether they can carry the idols. Over two lakhs people are expected to visit Digha to witness the chariot festival. Several foreigners are also scheduled to visit Digha,” said Das.
However, this year ISKCON’s chariot in Kolkata will have new wheels which have been originally designed for Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft, replacing the Boeing 747 tyres that had been used since 1977.
