West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will spend his first Diwali in office with Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the India-Bangladesh border, following a tradition observed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Adhikari is scheduled to visit the Hakimpur border area in North 24 Parganas district's Swarupnagar block on Diwali day in November. According to his programme, he is expected to reach the BSF camp at around 11 am and spend a considerable amount of time with the personnel stationed there. He will also exchange Diwali greetings with the border guards, who remain on duty to protect the country even during festivals.
The visit marks Adhikari's first Diwali as chief minister and is being viewed as significant from both political and administrative perspectives.
Following PM Modi's Diwali tradition
Modi made it a regular practice to visit border areas and celebrate Diwali with security personnel when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. He continued the tradition after becoming Prime Minister in 2014, travelling to different parts of the country to meet soldiers and paramilitary personnel during the festival.
Over the years, Modi has celebrated Diwali with security forces at locations including Ladakh and the Rajasthan border, sharing the occasion with personnel deployed away from their families.
Adhikari now intends to follow the same practice in West Bengal. Having taken charge as chief minister earlier this year, he will mark his first Diwali in office by meeting BSF personnel at the border and sharing the festive occasion with them.
From the border to Nandigram
After spending time with the BSF personnel at Hakimpur, Adhikari is expected to return to Kolkata later in the day. However, his stay in the city is likely to be brief, as he plans to leave for Nandigram in the afternoon.
The chief minister is expected to spend the remainder of Diwali in his Assembly constituency.