Hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) landslide victory in West Bengal, reports of post-poll violence emerged from several pockets in the state, with Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders claiming their party offices were attacked.
There were no reports of any injuries at the time of preparing this report.
In east Kolkata, the party office of TMC councilor Sushanta Kumar Ghosh was attacked late Monday night. Ghosh’s supporters alleged that BJP workers were behind the incident.
“A group of men armed with lathes and rods ransacked the office and set fire to furniture and banners. This happened hours after the BJP won the elections,” a TMC supporter said.
“I don’t want to comment. No complaint has been filed with the police yet,” Ghosh said on Tuesday morning.
In Tollygunge, the party office of former state minister Arup Biswas was ransacked. Similar incidents were reported in Panihati in North 24 Parganas, Ghatal in West Midnapore, and Asansol in West Burdwan, where TMC offices were targeted.
Three people were injured in Naihati’s Mammudpur after the house of a BJP worker was attacked by TMC-backed miscreants. A local club was also later looted.
The two-stage House of Representatives elections held in April were largely peaceful, with no major untoward incidents reported. West Bengal recorded an average voter turnout of 92.93% during the two phases – the highest in the state since independence.
“After so many years, West Bengal witnessed elections without casualties. There was not a single crude bomb blast either. In 2021, at least 24 people were killed in pre-election and polling day clashes. In 2016, at least seven people were killed. In 2016, more than 60 cases of crude bomb blast were reported in which several people were injured,” a senior IPS official associated with the Assembly elections said.
More than 2,400 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) were deployed across the state during the elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to keep around 500 corporators in the state until further orders to prevent post-election violence.
Allegations of widespread post-election violence also emerged in 2021 after the TMC returned to power for a third consecutive term, after which the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI investigation into the incidents.
