Fire, faith, and the eternal arc of Dharma — Dussehra 2026 lit up Delhi on Tuesday, October 20, as Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel shared glimpses of Prime Minister Narendra Modi participating in the sacred Ravana Dahan celebrations, marking the festival's most dramatic moment: the symbolic defeat of evil.

Sharing the visuals on X, CM Patel wrote: 'The eternal victory of good over evil! Glimpses of Hon'ble PM Modi ji participating in the sacred Ravana Dahan at the Dussehra celebrations in Delhi. May Prabhu Shri Ram bless us with the strength to walk the path of truth and Dharma. Jai Shri Ram!' The post, accompanied by a video, drew on the festival's central narrative — the triumph of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana, a story that has anchored Hindu cultural life for millennia.

Ravana Dahan and the ritual at the heart of Dussehra

Dussehra, celebrated on the tenth day of the Navratri cycle, culminates each year with the burning of towering effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna, and his son Meghnad. The ritual is simultaneously spectacle and scripture — a public re-enactment of Dharma (righteousness) asserting itself over Adharma (unrighteousness). Across India, from grand grounds in Delhi to village maidan gatherings in Gujarat, the burning effigy draws millions who see in the flames both a cultural memory and a living aspiration.

BJP leaders and the Dussehra moment

Senior BJP figures have made Dussehra participation a consistent feature of their public calendars over many years, with Ram symbolism occupying a prominent place in the party's cultural messaging. PM Modi's presence at Delhi's celebrations follows an established pattern of the Prime Minister engaging directly with major religious and cultural observances — lending national visibility to festivals that resonate deeply with a broad cross-section of Indian society. CM Patel's decision to amplify the visuals from Gandhinagar extends that visibility to Gujarat's BJP base, connecting state and national leadership through a shared cultural moment.

The post frames the festival not merely as ritual but as moral instruction — an annual reminder, as Patel put it, to 'walk the path of truth and Dharma.' That framing, invoking individual resolve alongside divine blessing, is a consistent thread in how BJP leaders translate religious observance into public communication.

As the embers of a thousand Ravana effigies cool across the country tonight, the message from both Delhi and Gandhinagar is the same: the story of Ram's victory, they insist, is never just history.