West Bengal’s political battle this Durga Puja came with the usual scoreboard: book sales. After the CPI(M) reported a sharp rise in sales despite alleged attacks on its bookstalls, the ruling BJP has countered with figures of its own, claiming sales worth more than Rs 2 crore.
But a closer look at the numbers reveals a basic problem: the two parties may not be counting the same thing.Saptarshi Chowdhury, the BJP’s literature in-charge for the state, said, “We have supplied books worth Rs 2.5 lakh to each of our 40 district units.” That amounts to Rs 1 crore in supplies to district units, and is evidence of the BJP’s distribution network but not necessarily of retail sales to the public.Books dispatched to a district office may subsequently be sold at stalls, distributed among party workers or remain unsold. Without a consolidated retail-sales account, these categories cannot be treated as interchangeable.The BJP’s wider claim of more than Rs 2 crore in sales includes purchases by individuals and organisations, some of whom subsequently sold the books.
The party also reported operating around 2,500 Durga Puja book stalls across Bengal, including more than 200 in Kolkata’s municipal area. However, a publicly available, independently verified breakdown of retail sales, bulk purchases and unsold stock is not available.
The CPI(M), meanwhile, reported sales worth Rs 98 lakh across 12 districts, up from over Rs 48 lakh in those areas last year—a 104 per cent jump. It subsequently put statewide sales at around Rs 1.47 crore.Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said 227 Left bookstalls had been targeted and 13 closed during the Puja season. “The common people have resisted the attacks on [Left] books.
The increase in sales is proof,” Chakraborty said.The numbers are not directly comparable. The CPI(M)’s Rs 98 lakh figure covers 12 districts while the BJP’s claim spans its wider organisational network and includes purchases by individuals and organisations for subsequent sale.
Neither party has released an independently audited account that separates sales to individual readers from bulk transactions.The contrast nevertheless captures two different political uses of the Puja bookstall. For the BJP, its extensive network offered a way to circulate literature on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party icon Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Hindutva beyond party offices.For the CPI(M), the sales acquired added significance after allegations of vandalism and attempts to remove its stalls, particularly during the confrontation at Jadavpur’s 8B bus stand on October 17.The Jadavpur CPI(M) stall reported sales of around Rs 16 lakh, against Rs 4.5 lakh last year.
The controversy brought renewed attention to the stall, although it does not establish that the attacks caused the increase in sales.The BJP’s larger headline figure is not surprising given its reported network of roughly 2,500 stalls, compared with around 1,200 Left stalls. What remains unclear is how much each party sold per stall, how many purchases came from ordinary readers and how much stock remained unsold.
A purchase may reflect ideological commitment, curiosity or simply a reader’s interest in a title. The sales figures measure commercial activity and organisational reach; on their own, they cannot establish which party’s ideas have gained greater public acceptance.For now, both sides have numbers to flaunt, but no common yardstick.
The more revealing measure would be how many books actually reached readers rather than how many were dispatched to party units.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends