Senior Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suvendu Adhikari and several party leaders participated in a procession in Kolkata on Saturday to spread a message of unity among Hindus, particularly ahead of the 2026 assembly polls in West Bengal.
The march, branded as 'Shourya Yatra' (Valor Procession), began at the ancestral house of Swami Vivekananda and concluded at the Shyambazar five-point crossing in northern Kolkata, covering a distance of 1.7 km.
Organised by the apolitical religious organisation 'Singha Bahini,' the procession saw many participants and monks brandishing tridents and raising slogans for unity among Hindus. The rally was strategically held on December 6th, the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
A BJP leader participating in the procession asserted the political objective: "The 70 per cent Hindus of the state need to unite to defeat 'jihadi' elements and ensure a Ram rajya for good governance. We wish to assert that this rally is against the attempt by fundamentalist forces to turn West Bengal into Bangladesh," the leader said.
A sizeable number of people from the Matua community and several belonging to backward castes were prominently positioned at the forefront of the rally.
Adhikari, who led the march, claimed that the time has come for all "devout Hindus to unite and assemble against the appeasement-friendly Trinamool Congress, which was all set to change the demographic character of Bengal."
"We will not let that happen. Hindus of different castes and creeds are united as shown in this gathering," the BJP leader said. Adhikari concluded by stating the rally was taken out to pay tribute to karsevaks (religious volunteers) who contributed to the Ram temple movement.
Also read: I-PAC, police pressurised BJP workers for defection: Suvendu
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