Overview
- Prayers and rituals were held across West Bengal in homes, schools and colleges, with students turning out in traditional attire for ceremonies and themed pandals.
- Leaders from TMC and BJP, including Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikari, Sukanta Majumdar and Samik Bhattacharya, visited pandals as part of voter outreach ahead of the Assembly elections.
- At Jadavpur University, separate TMCP and ABVP pujas proceeded under police deployment that the registrar said followed a court direction, as isolated campus scuffles were reported elsewhere in the state.
- A widely shared video from Kolkata’s South City Mall showed crowds of young couples, reflecting the day’s strong social pull often likened locally to a Valentine’s celebration.
- The festival’s reach extended nationally, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi posting greetings on X, Bollywood figures gathering at Anurag Basu’s puja in Mumbai and large devotional events reported in Prayagraj and Indore.