CM Bhupendra Patel attends Ravan Dahan in Ahmedabad on Vijayadashami
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
On the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami 2026, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel joined thousands of citizens at a Ravan Dahan event in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, October 20 — marking the festival that celebrates the eternal triumph of good over evil.
Sharing a live broadcast of his attendance, CM Patel posted in Gujarati: 'વિજયાદશમીના પર્વ નિમિત્તે અમદાવાદ ખાતે આયોજિત રાવણદહન કાર્યક્રમમાં ઉપસ્થિતિ' — ('Attending the Ravan Dahan event organised in Ahmedabad on the occasion of Vijayadashami'). The gesture placed the Chief Minister squarely at the heart of one of Gujarat's most widely celebrated public gatherings.
Vijayadashami and the Ravan Dahan tradition
Vijayadashami, popularly known as Dussehra, falls on the tenth day of the Navratri cycle and commemorates Lord Rama's victory over the demon king Ravana. Across India, the festival is marked by the burning of towering effigies of Ravana — a ritual called Ravan Dahan — symbolising the destruction of arrogance and wrongdoing. Ahmedabad, as Gujarat's largest city, hosts some of the state's grandest such events, drawing enormous crowds each year.
Chief ministers and the festival circuit
Attendance at major Hindu festivals is a well-established part of a state chief minister's public calendar across parties. For CM Bhupendra Patel, who took charge of Gujarat in 2021 and was re-elected in 2022, such appearances reinforce direct engagement with citizens outside formal government settings. The Ravan Dahan event represents precisely the kind of ground-level connect that state leaders prioritise ahead of subsequent cultural and civic milestones.