Saffron, white, saffron: Why Kolkata’s Academy of Fine Arts is caught in BJP vs Left paint war

A group of BJP workers led by the party's Shibpur MLA Rudranil Ghosh, who is also a film actor and director, gathered at the Academy premises and repainted the ticket counter room saffron amid chants of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Vande Mataram". (Express Photo) 4 min readKolkataAug 14, 2026 03:10 AM IST First published on: Aug 13, 2026 at 06:18 PM IST From saffron to white and then back to saffron: A room in the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata has turned into a new battleground between the ruling BJP and the Left. Two months after the BJP stormed to power in West Bengal after trouncing the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Assembly elections, on July 12, some BJP activists painted the colour of a room of the Academy, used as its ticket counter, saffron in apparent deference to the new regime.This was strongly protested by several Left-leaning intellectuals and artists. The Academy, which has a gallery and many art works by several major artists, is one of the state’s leading cultural institutions.