Post-Poll Bengal on Edge: Vandalism, Intimidation, and a PA’s Killing

A day after counting for the West Bengal Assembly elections, Mohd Khurshid was tending to his flocks of chicken when he heard about a mob entering Kolkata's New Market area with a bulldozer for a "victory rally". "I immediately packed up and left. I had to leave without my livestock," he recounts to The Quint.The crowd of hundreds chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' as the bulldozer, decked with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flags, rallied around the area—a known place of domicile for Muslims, many of whom own and run multiple shops in the colonial-era market.Although Khurshid's shop was left untouched, at least two linked to Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers and touts were razed to the ground, eyewitnesses allege to The Quint.Since 4 May, sporadic, yet persistent, incidents of violence and vandalism have been reported from Kolkata as well as other parts of Bengal. Tensions took an even graver turn on the night of 6 May when BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant, Chandranath Rath, was allegedly shot by unknown assailants who opened fire on his Scorpio car, killing him before he could reach the hospital. The incident took place in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district, and the assailants, who were reportedly on a motorbike, have since then been absconding.'Pre-Planned Murder': Suvendu Adhikari Reacts to PA’s Killing, Demands ProbeIt isn't just Madhyamgram or New Market. The past three days have seen a spate of similar incidents, many of which have emerged on social media as well, evoking reactions from both the TMC and the BJP. While TMC leaders like Mahua Moitra and Derek O'Brien blamed the violence on the BJP, the saffron party has alleged that members of the TMC itself are pertpetrating cross-party attacks in the garb of the BJP.Soumo Mondal, an activist who had been dining at the nearby Muslim-owned UP Bihar Restaurant, witnessed the "victory rally" in the New Market area on 5 May—and the demolitions that followed."First, they bulldozed a shop, probably selling cloth or garment, opposite the Kolkata Municipal Corporation building. That was around 7 pm. I caught it on camera," Mondal narrates.At around 8 pm, the crowd reached SS Hogg Market, a 19th-century structure at the centre of New Market and a key wholesale market, especially for fish, meat, and fruits in the city. Here, the bulldozer razed a TMC office, and an alleged chicken shop that was on lease to the party workers in the office.Another eyewitness, a photojournalist covering the incident for a national newspaper, recalls to The Quint, "It was madness. The crowd was highly energised. I had to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', too, in order to get close enough to get images."The surprising thing, according to the photographer, was that all of this happened in front of police and paramilitary personnel. "Officials from Lalbazar and New Market police stations, as well as the CRPF, were present. They just stood and watched," he alleges. The Quint reached out to New Market Police for a comment but was not met with a response. The next day, speaking to The Quint, locals said the razings were not communally targeted per se, and were rather political attacks on TMC party workers and property, adding that the blatant Hindutva expression in the minority areas, however, is meant to act as a "symbol of dominance". Meat-shop owner Khurshid, whose forefathers have been selling meat in Hogg market since 1938, clarifies, "The shop [which was razed along with the TMC office] was not even licensed... like ours which are all legal, with the vendors paying a fee to the corporation. But the act has created a sense of fear and foreboding anyway. It felt like deliberate provocation."More such incidents of vandalism of TMC offices by unknown persons were reported, including from Kolkata's Ruby Hospital area where a TMC office was ransacked and torched. The party's offices in Barasat were also vandalised. The Quint has accessed footage of vandalism in these areas, which occurred on the night of 4 May itself.BJP's Bid to Divide Bangla Rooted in Hindutva Politics of Linguistic ExclusionIn Topsia neighbourhood of Kolkata's Kasba Assembly constituency, where the TMC scored victory, the night of 5 May was tense, too. While there are contesting accounts to how the commotion began, TMC MLA Javed Ahmed Khan told The Quint that BJP-supporting mobs had entered the area and started doing "bhangchur" (vandalism) at a party office and nearby properties. "In the clashes, two local women were assaulted. Both received injuries to the head, one had to be hospitalised while the other got sutures," the TMC leader alleged.While both women are reportedly safe and back at their homes now, Khan alleged that it was the assault on the women that led to further tensions. "A counter mob soon descended on the streets and for a while, things were tense. I called the police and myself reached the spot to pacify the crowd and disperse it."A local, on condition of anonymity, tells The Quint: "A mob gathered near the Shimla Biryani (popular local eatery) crossing at around 8 pm. They were mostly armed with long bamboo sticks. Most were outsiders, but some were also from Topsia. Many waved saffron flags. The rowdiness continued for some time before the security forces arrived."Most locals in the Muslim-density neighbourhood remained indoors, and reticent to speak when contacted afterwards.Khan said, "The situation has since calmed down, with the crowd dispersing in about four-five hours. The forces eventually tried to reason with the mob. But this is total intimidation by the winning party. We strongly suspect they came here because this is a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood."In a statement, the local police noted that "a law-and-order problem arose in parts of Topsia and Tiljala under the South-East Division, during which certain miscreants vandalised public property, etc. Prompt and effective intervention by the local police brought the situation under control immediately.”It further added that two cases have been registered at Tiljala and Topsia police stations, and 40 accused persons arrested.While most of the post-poll clashes are being attributed to party rivalry and Bengal's "culture of political violence", and that several instances of post poll violence were recorded in the aftermath of 2021 lections as well as 2011 polls, shades of communal intimidation have been visibly discenrible, both in accounts of locals as well videos emerging online.Since the counting, several videos on social media depict instances of crowds of people—apparent BJP supporters with saffron flags and Hindutva chants—defacing properties named to honour Muslim icons or anything pertaining to Islam.In a video from Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district, verified by Alt News and also shared by TMC on its social media platforms, a group of saffron-bearing men can be seen harassing a shop named Afreen Biriyani. The men can be heard telling those purportedly running the shop to "relocate," claiming it was situated too close to a Hindu temple. "You have to relocate... we don't have a problem with you, but you can't be selling non-veg near a temple or running a shop with a Muslim name," the men can be heard saying in Bengali, adding, "Would you like it if we do something like this outside a mosque?"In Barasat's Champadali, mobs have "changed" the name of a park called "Shiraj Udyan"—named after Bengal's last nawab Shiraj-ud-Daula—to "Shivaji Udyan". They also broke a small bust of the ruler that had been installed under the gate. In Noapada, several young persons on 4 May scaled a decorative gateway arch of Masjid Bari Road in Barasat. They broke off the letterings and replaced them with a hoarding reading “Netaji Pally.” Speaking to Zee 24 Ghanta, locals claimed that no one called "Shiraj" had ever visited Barasat, and that there were not enough "Muslim wards" in the area for things to be named after Muslims.On 5 May, videos emerged of clashes breaking out near Calcutta University’s College Street campus after members of the BJP-affiliated students group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) allegedly attacked students affiliated with Left student organisations, including the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Students' Organisation (DSO).Videos circulating on social media showed violent confrontations betwen students, with DSO activists allegedly being assaulted by stick-bearing ABVP members. The DSO claimed that one of its members suffered a head injury and was taken to a nearby hospital, while five others were also injured in the violence. Videos caught the incident live.Students also alleged that no police or campus security personnel were present during the incident, raising concerns over student safety on campus. Violence also spread to other parts of Bengal, like Murshidabad where groups reportedly ran wild in the aftermath of results. Local activist Asif Farooq tells The Quint that Lalbagh Eidgah has been "taken over" since the election results. "The land was originally a Waqf property and had been under judicial dispute for some time. The court had ordered a barricade to remain in place till the matter is resolved," Farooq says. In videos seen online, too, the crowd can be seen breaking the barricade and entering the Eidgah with saffron flags."The Muslims have been offering prayers at the Eidgah twice a year. Some people have apparently taken over now," he said. "The move has caused local tensions but people are scared to react."Incidents were also reported on social media from Dalkhola, Uttar Dinajpur, where mobs reportedly attacked a biryani shop and threw out its wares. In Darjeeling, videos of mobs vandalising the Jama Masjid at Jor Pokhari emerged. The Quint could not independently verify these incidents.This Video Doesn’t Show Police Officers Celebrating BJP’s Win in West BengalNow, with the murder of Rath, the situation in West Bengal has become further volatile. BJP leaders have called it a “targeted assassination” and accusing the TMC leadership, including Mamata Banerjee, of fostering lawlessness. The TMC, in turn, has hit back with a demand for a court-monitored CBI probe. On social media, supporters of the BJP are referring to Rath as "Sainik Shahid Rath".In a statement, the TMC condemned the killing, saying: “We strongly condemn the brutal murder of Chandranath Rath in Madhyamgram tonight, along with the killing of three other TMC workers in incidents of post-poll violence allegedly carried out by BJP-backed miscreants over the last three days, despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force.”“We demand the strongest possible action in this matter, including a court-monitored CBI probe so that those responsible are identified and brought to justice without delay,” it said.Meanwhile, party leaders like Shamik Bhattacharya and Sajal Ghosh have warned that BJP will "not tolerate" anyone participating in post-poll acts. The party also countered the TMC's allegations, claiming that the mob consisted of TMC workers settling "older scores" and those who wanted to "prove their loyalty" to the BJP.As tensions simmer, many point out that even as the state is "like a tinderbox right now", it is the responsibility of governments, law enforcement to ensure security.Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, senior journalist and author of Mission Bengal: A Saffron Experiment, opines: "Political violence was widely anticipated this time anyway because of the atmosphere of threats from both sides during the electoral campaign. The pre-poll campign was highly polarised with both parties publicly issuing threats to each other. It was like the state was sitting on a powder keg."Many poll watchers point out that the scale of violence was larger in the aftermath of 2021 results, and even in 2011, when the TMC wrested the state from Left government after 34 years. At the same time, since the BJP had promised to change this very culture of political violence this time, with its "bhoy out" (fear out) campaign, the post-poll incidents gather more sting. "It is not in the party's benefit for such incidents to continue. If too many TMC workers come under persistent attack, there is a possibility of them joining alternative segments like the Left or Muslim third front. The BJP is aware of that possibility on ground and would definitely like to avoid it," Bhattacharya adds.Change at the Cost of Secularism? Bengal Voters on BJP Wave, Anti-TMC Mood

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Post-Poll Bengal on Edge: Vandalism, Intimidation, and a PA’s Killing

Since 4 May, incidents of violence and vandalism have been reported from Kolkata as well as other parts of Bengal.

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Topics: West Bengal assembly election Violence in West Bengal