Adhikari prays at Maharashtra Mandal, decries language-based divisions
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the Maharashtra Mandal in central Kolkata on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and offered prayers to Lord Ganesha on September 15, according to reports. Speaking to reporters at the mandal, he criticised attempts to divide people on linguistic lines and urged members of the Maharashtrian community with ties to the state to consider returning to West Bengal.
Adhikari described the festival as part of the Sanatan tradition observed widely, saying it takes place in cities as far afield as New York, Paris and Mumbai and that it was appropriate for such observances to be held in Kolkata. He told reporters that the public had rejected political narratives that sought to separate communities by language.
"Narratives claiming that Marathis or Gujaratis are 'outsiders' will not work," Adhikari said, adding that festivals such as Durga Puja are also now celebrated in cities outside Bengal.
Appeal to Maharashtrians and claims on population change
During his visit the chief minister expressed concern over what he described as a significant decline in the Maharashtrian population in the state since independence. He said that while there had once been "lakhs" of Marathi people living in West Bengal after independence, the number has now fallen to an estimated 1,500–2,000, and he appealed to those with family or business links to Maharashtra to return.
Adhikari said the state government would assist returnees and urged them to invest, set up businesses and enrol children in what he characterised as West Bengal's strong educational institutions. He also highlighted the expanding footprint of Ganesh Puja within Bengal, saying this year the festival was being organised at more than a lakh locations across Kolkata, Siliguri and Asansol, according to his remarks reported by news agencies.
- Venue: Maharashtra Mandal, Kolkata.
- Event: Ganesh Chaturthi prayers by the Chief Minister.
- Claims made: Rejection of language-based outsider narratives; estimated fall in Maharashtrian population to 1,500–2,000; over a lakh Ganesh Puja sites across three Bengal cities.
Festival context and political undertones
Ganesh Chaturthi, which celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, is observed across India with community rituals and public pandals. Adhikari's visit to the Maharashtra Mandal — an established cultural hub for the Marathi community in Kolkata — and his public remarks come amid ongoing political debates over identity and migration that resonate in the state.
The chief minister invoked the wider presence of the festival to underline Kolkata's place in pan-Indian cultural practice. He noted that traditional observances take place in varied global cities and suggested that the cultural life of Kolkata should continue to reflect such plurality.
| Claim | Detail |
|---|---|
| Estimated Maharashtrian population in West Bengal | 1,500–2,000 (as stated by the chief minister) |
| Ganesh Puja locations cited | Over a lakh sites across Kolkata, Siliguri and Asansol (as stated) |
The comments were reported by national agencies, which carried Adhikari's appeal for members of the Marathi community to resume residency, investments and educational ties in West Bengal. He held up the state's educational institutions as a reason for families to return and for entrepreneurs to consider setting up businesses.
For Kolkata — a city long shaped by waves of internal and international migration and celebrated for its plural civic life — the chief minister's remarks touch on the ongoing conversation about cultural coexistence and the shape of urban demography. The Maharashtra Mandal itself remains an important node for Marathi cultural life in the city, and the observance of Ganesh Chaturthi there draws both devotees and wider public attention.
No independent verification of the population estimate cited by the chief minister was contained in the agency dispatches that reported the visit and his statements.
