Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, 2026 West Bengal polls to loom large over Ram Navami festivities
political significance of Ram Navami celebrations in the state this year. What has traditionally been a religious occasion has morphed into a political battleground, as the ruling TMC and opposition BJP have engaged in a fierce contest over polarisation and counter-polarisation.
The BJP, looking to consolidate Hindu votes ahead of next year's polls, has made Ram Navami a focal point of its campaign.
Hindutva groups, including the VHP and the RSS, have set a target of mobilising over three crore people and taking out rallies in every block in West Bengal during the week-long celebrations starting on April 6.
According to BJP leaders, these processions will serve as a symbolic protest against the alleged attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and what they described as the TMC's «appeasement politics.»
«The attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh are an eye-opener for those on this side of the border. If we don't resist now, Hindus in West Bengal may face a similar fate due to the TMC's appeasement policies,» state BJP president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar told PTI.
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«Hindus of West Bengal are already facing similar attacks from jihadis supported by the TMC,» he alleged.
Majumdar said this year's Ram Navami celebrations will be a «response» to such atrocities.
VHP West Bengal secretary Chandra Nath Das identified three key reasons behind the growing traction of Ram Navami: a record number of Bengali devotees visiting the Kumbh Mela and Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the emotional connection of many Hindus in the state with their persecuted relatives across the border, and a rising discontent against the state government's alleged policies of minority appeasement.
«This year's Ram Navami has given people an opportunity