“Khela Hobe Slogan” to now have its day in West Bengal.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Tuesday that the Trinamool Congress’s election slogan “Khela Hobe (The Game is On)” will be formally institutionalized as “Khela Hobe Diwas” in Bengal. The official date of this day is being assumed to be in July but has yet to be determined. The aim of this Diwas is to give football a boost at the grassroots level.

According to sources, the day will be modeled on Kanyashree Diwas, which is observed on August 14 to commemorate the Kanyashree direct-cash-transfer scheme for funding girls’ high school and college education. On Khela Hobe Diwas, the chief minister will deliver over 50,000 ‘Joyee’ brand footballs to registered sports groups across Bengal, created by the state’s refugee handicrafts unit.

On the other hand, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are just a few months away, the poster war over the now-famous West Bengal slogan “Khela hobe” is heating up. The ruling BJP has responded with posters proclaiming “2022 mein Khela na hoi” after the Samajwadi Party put up hoardings and banners with the slogan “2022 mein Khela hoi” in Kanpur and Varanasi.

Local politician Bachchi Yadav put up the BJP posters, which prominently feature the photograph of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. This is most likely the first time the Samajwadi Party and BJP have engaged in a direct poster war, and it is being waged through their workers.