Mamata Banerjee ready with own temple project in West Bengal to counter BJP
Shubhadeep Choudhury
New Delhi, November 18
The Ram temple project may be what the BJP is counting upon for the Lok Sabha elections, in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is ready with her own temple project to face the BJP “juggernaut” in the state.
The state-funded Jagannath temple coming up at Digha is Banerjee’s answer to the BJP which had won 18 of the state’s 42 seats in the last General Election.
The Jagannath temple being built at the seaside town, would be ready by April, Banerjee today said in Kolkata. Modelled on the famous temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath in Puri, the gigantic structure being built on a 20 acres near the Digha railway station at a cost of Rs 143 crore is slated to be Banerjee’s response to the BJP’s propaganda against her of pandering to the religious sentiments of the Muslims.
In 2021, when the BJP made a strong pitch for capturing power in West Bengal, Mamata was seen frantically chanting Sanskrit religious ‘mantras’ aloud before addressing public meetings to underscore her rootedness in Hindu traditions.
Religion is set to play a big role in the Lok Sabha elections in the state also, which is third largest in the country in terms of Lok Sabha seats. The TMC government has also taken initiative to give facelift to many Hindu religious places in the state.
