The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will set up 1,500 book stalls near prominent Durga Puja pandals across the state this festive season, offering titles on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 25 years in public office, Hindu religious teachings, and nationalist ideology. The initiative marks one of the party's most visible outreach efforts during the festival calendar.

What the Stalls Will Offer

According to a BJP state committee member, demand at past stalls has been highest for books aligned with the party's ideological framework and Hindu religious thought. This year, a new addition will be titles documenting PM Modi's quarter-century as a public administrator — a milestone the party is actively publicising.

Books on the life and legacy of Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh — the ideological predecessor to the BJP — will also be prominently displayed. Free booklets detailing the achievements of both the Union government and the first BJP-led state government in West Bengal will be distributed to pandal visitors.

Focus on State Government's First Five Months

'The booklets available at the stalls during Durga Puja will provide details of the investments that have come into the state over the last five months, the number of people who have benefited from social welfare schemes, the reforms introduced in the administrative sector and the work undertaken on issues such as women's safety and financial empowerment,' the state committee member said.

The move signals the BJP's intent to use the high-footfall Puja season as a platform to consolidate its governance narrative at the state level, particularly with a first-term administration seeking to cement its early record in public memory.

CPI-M Also Joins With Broader Selection

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is separately planning to set up its own book stalls near popular Durga Puja pandals, continuing a longstanding Left tradition of distributing political literature during the festival. Notably, the party is widening its offering this year — its stalls will carry works by popular Bengali writers alongside traditional Marxist and Communist texts, a departure from the more ideologically uniform selections of previous years.

Political Literature Meets Festive Season

The competing book-stall initiatives from both the BJP and CPI-M reflect a broader pattern in West Bengal politics, where Durga Puja pandals have long served as informal arenas for cultural and ideological outreach. With millions of visitors expected at major pandals across Kolkata and the districts, both parties are positioning the festival as a key grassroots communication moment ahead of the electoral cycle. All stalls are expected to be operational through the duration of the Puja festivities.