Mumbai, Sept 2026 : A total of 432 mandals from across Maharashtra have submitted applications for the ‘Maharashtra State Best Public Ganeshotsav Mandal Competition 2026’, organised by the P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy under the Cultural Affairs Department of the Maharashtra Government. The highest number of 52 applications has been received from Thane district. The scope of the competition was expanded to the taluka level from last year.
For the first time this year, the competition has also been expanded to the national and international levels. The last date for submitting applications for the national and international competitions is September 25. While submitting applications, national and international mandals will have to submit photographs, along with geotags, of the Ganeshotsav and related cultural activities organised during the past year as well as photographs of this year's Ganeshotsav. So far, applications for the national-level competition have been received from various cities across the country. Applications for the international-level competition have been received from countries including Japan, Sri Lanka, Germany, Nigeria and Singapore. The global expansion of the competition is giving the state festival a ‘global’ identity.
Recognising the traditional and cultural significance of the public Ganeshotsav, the government has declared Ganeshotsav as a ‘State Festival’. Last year, extensive changes were made in the organisation of this competition and other related activities, and the participation of mandals and registered organisations in the competition has been increasing every year.
The evaluation of the competition will be conducted in a highly transparent manner. Taluka-level and district-level evaluation committees will physically visit the participating mandals. During the visits, the committees will evaluate various aspects, including all documents of the participating mandals, activities conducted throughout the year, their reports, photographs and videos, cultural competitions, initiatives related to the preservation and promotion of culture and cultural heritage, facilities provided for devotees, various competitions, permanent as well as festival-period activities conducted for students, women and senior citizens, eco-friendly idols and decorations, and a pollution-free environment.
The evaluation will be conducted online, and the evaluators will have to submit their results through geotagged photographs. This will bring transparency to the results and enable more effective regulation and monitoring of the competition.
The first-place winner at the taluka level will receive a prize of Rs 25,000, while the first, second and third winners at the district level will receive Rs 50,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 30,000, respectively. At the state, national and international levels, the first three winners will receive prizes of Rs 7.5 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh, respectively.
In addition, the portal ganeshotsav.pldmka.co.in, created to enable everyone to have online darshan of household and public Ganpati idols from their homes, will open from September 14. Through this portal, public mandals can provide live and free darshan of their Ganpati idols to devotees across the world. Photographs of household Ganpati idols can also be made available for everyone to view.
State Cultural Affairs Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar has appealed to mandals and citizens to participate enthusiastically in all the activities of this State Festival.
