The first-ever Rath Yatra in Digha witnessed a blend of grand religious fervour and political undercurrents on Friday as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the festival amid Vedic chants and vibrant rituals. However, the event briefly drew controversy when Lord Jagannath’s chariot came to an unexpected halt due to a mechanical fault, a moment that the opposition has seized upon to launch political attacks.
The Chief Minister performed traditional rituals including breaking coconuts, sprinkling sandalwood powder and sweeping the chariot path with a golden broom before ceremoniously pulling the chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannath. The ceremony began after 2 pm, following the Pahandi Vijay Parva, the customary procession where the deities are brought from the temple to their respective chariots with devotional singing and music.
Accompanying the Chief Minister were top state officials including Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar and District Magistrate Purnendu Majhi, along with five cabinet ministers.
Thousands of devotees gathered to witness the procession. The chariot began its one-kilometer journey from the newly inaugurated Jagannath temple in Digha to the Lord’s aunt’s house. The chariots moved slowly, allowing devotees a full darshan of the deities. Many visitors, such as Bhagwati Garai from Birbhum, Sukumar Pradhan from Bakreshwar and Anima Mahato from Purulia praised the initiative for allowing them to experience the spiritual grandeur usually reserved for Puri.
However, the procession encountered a hiccup when one of the iron clips on Jagannath’s chariot wheel came loose near the hospital gate. The chariot came to a halt, but the situation was swiftly handled by ISKCON authorities and chariot builders. With a few hammer blows, the issue was fixed and the procession resumed.
The brief technical fault, however, was quickly politicised. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari took to social media, suggesting that the wheel jam was an “inauspicious sign” and a result of Mamata Banerjee’s alleged disrespect toward Sanatan Dharma.
“From the temple’s inception to the prasad distribution, the rituals have been tampered with,” Adhikari alleged, adding that Mamata’s involvement in the chariot rituals was politically motivated.
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Adhikari also posted videos mocking the Chief Minister for coconut-breaking rituals and claimed that there was a lack of significant turnout at the Rath Yatra event, contradicting visuals and reports from the site showing thousands of devotees in attendance.
Despite political jibes, the Rath Yatra in Digha marked a significant cultural moment for the state. With Digha’s new Jagannath temple as the centerpiece, the festival added a fresh dimension to West Bengal’s religious calendar. The state administration has taken steps to ensure crowd control and safety, especially in light of recent stampede-like incidents in other parts of the country.
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