A seemingly cultural argument has swept into full political debate in West Bengal, as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP clash over two national compositions: Vande Mataram, penned by ﹛entity﹜["people","Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay",0]﹛, and Jana Gana Mana, by ﹛entity﹜["people","Rabindranath Tagore",0]﹛.
The BJP points to the 150-year anniversary of Vande Mataram and accuses the TMC of downplaying the celebrations, while the TMC counters by alleging that the BJP has under-played Tagore’s legacy and is attempting to pitch two Bengali greats against each other.
Triggering the controversy was a remark by Karnataka BJP MP Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri that Jana Gana Mana was originally composed to welcome the British—comments that provoked protests in Kolkata and further fanned the dispute.
Bengal’s Education Minister Bratya Basu accused the BJP of manufacturing a division between Tagore and Bankim—reflecting wider concerns over cultural identity, linguistic pride and political symbolism in the state ahead of the 2026 polls.
Beyond letters and songs, the jargon and tone suggest something much more profound: the contest is less about which song is superior and more about whose heritage, whose narrative and whose identity will dominate the upcoming political season in Bengal.
As the electoral battle heats up, the hymn war is being used by both sides to rally bases, highlight cultural credentials and frame the election in terms of respect for legacy as much as everyman issues.