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Political observers say the unhindered passage of Bengal’s tableau in the Republic Day parade this year may point to a tactical accommodation by the Centre ahead of the 2026 polls
Bengal’s tableau will be led by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay—author of Vande Mataram. Sources reveal his figure will be in a posture where he is writing Vande Mataram with a pen. (PTI)
After having refused Bengal’s tableau in Republic Day parades in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024, the Centre appears to be going out of its way to accommodate the state’s entry this year—a move many observers view through the prism of next year’s assembly elections.
According to government sources, the tableau model presented by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal administration has cleared the scrutiny of the defence ministry’s expert committee without objection from the Centre in several meetings so far. Officials have even suggested enhancements to make the design more visually appealing, indicating active cooperation rather than resistance. If all goes according to plan, the Bengal tableau may be featured prominently on New Delhi’s Kartavya Path during the Republic Day celebrations.
Bengal’s theme this time is “Bengal in the Freedom Struggle”. News18 has reliably learnt that the proposed tableau will feature the logo of ‘Biswa Bangla’—the official branding initiative of the West Bengal government. It is unusual for the committee to okay such a state logo in a state tableau for R-Day. However, government sources indicate no objections were raised over it.
What’s more? Vande Mataram, which will be played from the tableau, is proposed not to be the usual music of the national song but the one composed by Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore set the music in 1895 and a year later sang Vande Mataram for the first time at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta. Surprisingly, this too was accepted.
Bengal’s tableau will be led by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay—author of Vande Mataram whose 150 years is being celebrated this year by the Centre. Sources reveal his figure will be in a posture where he is writing Vande Mataram with a pen. Behind him will be Bengali icons such as Subhas Chandra Bose riding a horse, Tagore, and Matangini Hazra holding a tricolour. Sources say it has been insisted at the highest level in the West Bengal government to keep the height of all the icons same—a request the Centre hasn’t objected to. The idea, sources reveal, was not to let one icon look larger than life while others look dwarfed.
On the side of the tableau, the Bengal government has decided to install 12 figures like Swami Vivekananda, freedom fighter Chittaranjan Das, poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, and revolutionary Aurobindo Ghosh among others.
Government sources reveal that instead of questioning the state on technicalities, the Centre has been working as a facilitator this time. “For instance, the committee suggested that the pen and ink that the figure of Chattopadhyay uses right in front of the tableau should look natural. We told them that we would be replicating the same inkpot that is still there in the museum in Naihati,” said a source in the state government who did not wish to be identified.
So far, 17 states and Union Territories have been shortlisted for the parade. The final list of which states have made the cut will come a few days before Republic Day. However, it is widely believed that Bengal will make it to the final list, given the sensibilities attached.
Political observers suggest that the unhindered passage of Bengal’s tableau this year may point to a tactical accommodation by the Centre ahead of the 2026 assembly elections in the state, with both national and regional players bracing for one of the country’s most closely watched electoral battles. After all, sidelining the state that gave birth to Vande Mataram—especially when the Republic Day theme is “Swatantrata ka Mantra: Vande Mataram”—would have made for awkward optics and poor politics.
December 29, 2025, 11:21 IST
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