TMC alleges party worker murdered by BJP members in Birbhum

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday alleged that one of its workers was murdered by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party hours after the Hindutva party won the Assembly elections in West Bengal.

The TMC claimed that the worker was “hacked to death” in Birbhum district’s Nanoor.

“This is what their victory looks like,” it said in a social media post. “And where are the thousands of central forces stationed across Bengal, deployed at enormous expense in the name of peace and security?”

The party added: “Standing by. Watching. Arms folded while our people are being butchered on the streets.”

Ahead of the elections, the Election Commission deployed 2.4 lakh Central Armed Police Forces personnel in the state. About 500 companies, or 50,000 personnel, are expected to remain in place for at least 60 days after the results.

On Monday, several offices of the TMC were attacked and vandalised, PTI reported.

The BJP claimed that the vandalism was a result of internal rifts within the TMC, and that some of those carrying out violence were using BJP flags.

“Members of the TMC are attacking each other, and some of them are using BJP flags,” West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya claimed while speaking to PTI.

However, Bhattacharya told ANI that if any BJP workers engage in vandalism, the party would be compelled to expel them from the organisation.

The TMC, on the other hand, alleged that armed BJP workers had vandalised its office in Falta, Diamond Harbour. The party’s office in Bally had also been “attacked and vandalised by BJP hooligans”, it alleged in a social media post.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party added that across the state, the Hindutva party members were “attacking our leaders and workers, and creating havoc”.

The police said that TMC offices in Tollygunge and Kasba in Kolkata, and in suburbs such as Baruipur, Kamarhati and Baranagar, had been vandalised by mobs starting Monday afternoon, reported PTI. The party’s offices in Howrah and Baharampur were also reportedly targeted.

In the Bijoygarh-Netajinagar area of Tollygunge, the election office of TMC candidate and former minister Aroop Biswas was vandalised, according to the news agency. At Ruby Crossing, the office of TMC councillor Sushanta Ghosh was also attacked by a crowd allegedly carrying BJP flags.

Trinamool Congress member Kunal Ghosh claimed that a party office in Kolkata’s Belghata was also attacked, and that a block president, Pabitra Biswas, sustained injuries.

The TMC claimed that one of its offices in Siliguri was also set on fire and shared a purported video of the violence. The party also alleged that its candidate Samir Panja was attacked in the Udaynarayanpur area of Howrah district.

The party also alleged that its Noapara candidate Trinankur Bhattacharya and Barrackpore candidate Rajib Chakraborty were assaulted while leaving counting centres and had to be escorted out by personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces, PTI reported.

Condemning the incidents, the TMC said that the BJP had “shown its true colours right after coming to power”.

The party alleged on social media: “Their goons led a violent attack on the TMC party office in Berhampore, Murshidabad. Vandalism and chaos…this is the real face of the BJP.”

Separately, BJP workers allegedly vandalised a signboard that said “Masjid Para Road” to “rename” it to “Netaji Pally Road” in North 24 Parganas district, claiming that the decision was to honour anti-colonial leader Subhas Chandra Bose.

Meanwhile, commenting on statements made by TMC leaders before the elections, Bhattacharya also told PTI: “Children often resort to mischief, its fine, let them. They enjoyed it at the moment but 'khela hogaya’ [the game is over].” It was not immediately clear which statements the BJP leader was responding to.

An unidentified Election Commission official told PTI that action would be taken against those involved in alleged instances of violence, adding that the poll body had sought reports from the police.

BJP wins Bengal

In the results declared on Monday, the BJP won 206 seats in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.

A party or an alliance needs 148 seats in the Assembly to secure a majority. The TMC had won 80 seats and was leading in one constituency, data from the Election Commission showed at 12.15 pm on Tuesday.

The Congress and former minister Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party won two seats each. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All India Secular Front secured one win each.

Banerjee lost to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes in the Bhabanipur constituency. Adhikari had defeated Banerjee in Nandigram seat in the 2021 polls, after which the TMC chief had been elected to the Assembly from Bhabanipur in a bye-election.

Votes in 293 constituencies were counted on Monday as the Election Commission has ordered repolling in the Falta Assembly seat citing “severe electoral offences”. The polling there will be held on May 21 and the votes will be counted on May 24.

Also read:

• SIR to CRPF: Five factors that helped the BJP conquer Bengal
• Assembly poll results: Change of guard in three Opposition-ruled states, BJP retains Assam