A day after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) registered a resounding victory in West Bengal with 29 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, several incidents of post-poll violence have been reported across the state.
About a dozen houses and a BJP office were allegedly vandalised by goons, armed with iron rods and guns, in Barasat constituency’s Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district. Trinamool called it a clash between rival factions within the BJP.
The police came to the spot along with CAPF jawans. However, the miscreants allegedly returned and ransacked the area after the security forces had left. The police is yet to arrest anyone related to the incident.
Meanwhile, Barrackpore constituency’s Bhatpara has also been hit with violence. Within hours after the announcement of the TMC’s win in Barrackpore, miscreants raided BJP workers’ homes and ransacked them, causing an atmosphere of fear in the area. Bombs were also hurled in the region allegedly by TMC supporters.
In Coochbehar’s Natabari, in the northern part of West Bengal, a BJP supporter allegedly attacked a TMC worker with a gun. A video has gone viral where local villagers can be seen chasing the accused while he flashes his gun. In Nadia district’s Shantipur, a TMC youth leader’s house was hurled with bombs.
A BJP agent's house was vandalized in South 24 Parganas’ Narendrapur. In Durgapur, a CPI(M) leader's daughter's shop was plundered. A BJP worker's house was bombed and vandalized in Howrah.
These incidents have created a tense atmosphere in several pockets across West Bengal where central forces are deployed until June 19. The state has a notorious history of political violence with post-poll violence a big menace.
After Trinamool’s landslide victory in the 2021 state assembly elections, post-poll violence had taken a drastic turn in West Bengal. Scores of opposition party workers had to leave their homes for hiding.
