Overview
- BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya attended Khuti Pujo ceremonies and publicly said on July 16 that he will not become president of any Durga Puja committee to stress community control.
- Organisers at Suruchi Sangha carried out an organisational rejig that installed BJP-linked MLA Sourav Sikder as secretary and removed long‑time figures Aroop and Swarup Biswas, with Swarup reportedly under arrest in an extortion case.
- Bhattacharya argued that Durga Puja should be free from party capture and said the festival's religious sanctity must be restored after what he described as its reduction to a mere 'festival' under the previous TMC-led government.
- Several committees have come under legal and financial scrutiny with allegations of corruption and arrests cited as a rationale for leadership changes that now include more BJP-affiliated figures.
- Coverage differs by outlet with right‑leaning reports emphasizing Bhattacharya's distancing from formal control and left‑leaning coverage stressing his security and demographic warnings and the political symbolism of BJP presence at community rituals.