Saffron-Backed Cultural Revival: BJP-Led Folk Festival at Princep Ghat Challenges Trinamul's Artistic Dominance

On January 20, a group supported by the BJP is planning a music and folk festival at Princep Ghat in this area in an effort to engage with Bengal's cultural landscape, which is still largely beyond the purview of the saffron movement.

Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition and a BJP MLA, is the primary sponsor of the event. BJP politician and state executive committee member Jitendra Tiwari is the head of the organization, the Cultural and Literary Forum of Bengal, which is putting on the event.

The forum officials insisted that the event was unrelated to any political party, although they did say that the cultural festival was chosen because hundreds of traditional musicians expressed their frustration at not being given the chance to play at state government events such as the Sangeet Mela, which took place on December 24.

"We have attempted to unify 1,200 folk singers who were not invited to the Sangeet Mela this year under one roof via our platform. The outfit's general secretary, Pritam Sarkar, said, "Although the event this year is only going to last one day, we plan to have a three-day fest at least next year."

According to a source, when the organizers visited Adhikari earlier this month, he promised to assist them in any way possible in setting up the event at Princep Ghat.

"Suvendu da will speak to the audience during the festival. Folk singers from Darjeeling to the Sunderbans will perform at the event, according to a festival organizer. The festival is affiliated with the right-wing cultural group Sanskar Bharti.

According to a BJP source, the saffron camp saw political significance in holding this event ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, since the Mamata Banerjee government's welfare schemes for folk artists, such as Baul from Birbhum, Chhau from Purulia, and Bhawaiya and Gambhira from north Bengal, seemed to give the ruling Trinamul party complete control over the folk artist community.

Approximately 1.92 lakh folk artists now get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 from the Bengali government. Performers at official functions are paid Rs 1,000 each performance.

Despite the fact that the Mamata Banerjee administration has been giving the folk singers' society so many perks, it is difficult for us to organize them. Many, however, are dissatisfied with a number of state government-related concerns. A BJP leader said, "We are attempting to bring them together."

Purnadas Baul and Basudeb Das Baul, two Baul singers, could perform, according to a source. Before the 2021 state elections, Basudeb gave Union Home Minister Amit Shah a lunch in Santiniketan as part of the BJP's campaign.

A BJP leader said that the party needed to engage the community "properly" and that these meals offered little electoral benefit.