Kolkata: On Tuesday (June 4), as election results of the recently concluded general elections were getting declared across the country, my father who is a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), kept receiving anxious calls. His friends had urged him to stay indoors, their voices tinged with nervousness. They informed him that a group of miscreants, allegedly backed by the local Trinamool Congress (TMC), were attacking and vandalising the CPI(M) party office across from our old home, which is about 500 meters from where we live now.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
My mother recalled the results day in 2019 when TMC supporters came looking for my father on election results day in our old neighbourhood. I could not stop thinking about how normalised political violence has become in West Bengal during elections. We’ve come to accept injuries and murders as part of the electoral process. Elections have become a fearful and traumatic event, especially for those who’ve lost family members to political violence.
My father showed me WhatsApp forwarded pictures of four demolished CPI(M) offices in our neighbourhood. This violence wasn’t an isolated incident; it extended across West Bengal, including the ‘bhadralok’ capital Kolkata. Srijan Bhattacharya, CPI(M) candidate from Jadavpur, spoke to local news channels about spending his days tending to injured party workers assaulted by TMC supporters in his Jadavpur constituency on the polling day, June 1, and continued in some parts from the counting day (June 4) until Thursday (June 6).
Vandalism, assaults, hospitalisation: The same script across Bengal
The final phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, covering nine seats — Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar — was full of violence across West Bengal. Despite the presence of central armed security forces, CPI(M)’s camp office in Jadavpur’s Ganguly Bagan was attacked. In Baranagar, a fake voter was caught by BJP’s Sajal Ghosh with the help of central forces deployed in the state. The Election Commission (EC) has received 2,667 complaints till 3 pm, including EVM malfunctions, booth agents being barred, and voters threatened.
The CPI(M) committee office in Baranagar area after the attack during the Lok Sabha Elections. Photo: Arranged by the author
The Diamond Harbour constituency, where TMC’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee won by a whopping 7.10 lakh votes, had the most number of complaints.
In Howrah, TMC-backed thugs attacked CPI(M) workers and offices in various areas. On Tuesday night, the goons attacked the house and shop of Safikuddin Gazi, a CPI(M) party member, and election agent for CPI(M) candidate, in Howrah’s Bankra area. Similarly, in the same locality, CPI(M) branch secretary Fazrul Rahman Sahana’s home was ransacked, and family members were assaulted. His tea shop in front of his house was also destroyed.
As soon as the counting started on Tuesday in North Kolkata, South Kolkata, and neighbourhoods like Jadavpur, Keshtopur, and Subhash Gram, similar attacks were reported on CPI(M) and Congress workers. In Garden Reach, an elderly CPI(M) leader’s house was severely attacked.
In Metiabruz, on June 1 night, CPI(M) polling agent Sayan Sarkar, who was working for the party’s candidate from Kolkata-Dakshin Saira Shah Halim, was assaulted for protesting against vote-rigging. Sarkar’s neighbour Dilip Sen has confirmed that they have filed a police complaint. To inquire about the attack on Sarkar’s house, I have called the Metiabruz police station on June 6 and June 7 but did not get any response.
At the Jadavpur constituency’s counting centre, the CPI(M) office was attacked, with furniture and windows broken, severely injuring party worker Somnath Karmakar who was inside. He had to be hospitalised.
In Srerampore, two CPI(M) counting agents were beaten and thrown out of the counting centres.
In Bardhaman, a party worker’s father was critically injured when TMC supporters attacked their home.
In Barasat, polling agent Mamata Das’s house was severely destroyed.
In Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency, CPI(M) counting agent Surpiyo Biswas, a contract worker in a private factory, was brutally assaulted which happened in the presence of police and central forces. In Durgapur’s B-zone area, TMC supporters set ablaze a tailoring shop owned by CPI(M) member and polling agent Mohammad Ali Seikh’s daughter, Firoza Khatun, the sole income source for her family.
According to Samik Lahiri, a former member of the Lok Sabha and senior member of CPI(M), “In the seventh phase of the election and somewhat in the sixth phase, polling agents were attacked everywhere from Sandeskhali to Kakdwip, sometimes even in front of the police. They wanted to win these 16 seats at any cost, bringing in anti-social elements and whatnot.”
Also read: Sharp Split in Muslim Votes Between TMC and Left-Congress Alliance in Bengal
CPI(M)’s Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat candidate, Pratikur Rahaman, has lodged complaints with the EC regarding the intimidation of the party’s workers and supporters. According to Rahaman, these incidents have occurred in various locations, including Diamond Harbour, Falta, and parts of the Budge Budge assembly segments.
“On the day of the poll, more than 1,300 booths were fully captured by the AITC with the cooperation of the police and civil administration. Now the counting halls are also captured by the same machinery. The entire election procedure was turned as(sic) a farce,” Rahaman’s complaint read.
The history and future of election violence
Political violence in West Bengal has deep historical roots and remains a pervasive element of its political culture. According to political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty, “This violence is not a spontaneous outburst but a calculated preparation for future elections, particularly the upcoming 2026 elections.” He explained that the ruling party in West Bengal has traditionally spread violence to consolidate power, leveraging the support of state machinery like the police, who ensure that there are no legal repercussions for those aligned with the ruling party. “Whoever is the ruling party in West Bengal, they spread the violence single-handedly,” Chakraborty mentioned.
The use of violence as a political tool is deeply embedded in the region’s history. Proma Raychaudhury, an assistant professor of Politics at Krea University highlighted that election-related and everyday violence has been a consistent feature of West Bengal’s political landscape. Starting from post-independence, the dominance of the Congress party was challenged by various left parties, leading to frequent and severe clashes.
“The concept of “party society,” as discussed by Professor Dwaipayan Bhattacharya, emphasises that political identity in Bengal often overshadows other social identities. People are identified or targeted based on their party loyalties, and shifts in loyalty can provoke violent retaliation,” Raychaudhury said.
Despite changes in political power-centres, the cycle of violence in Bengal persists. Whether it was during the Congress rule, the Left Front era, or the current TMC governance, the strategy remains the same: “To disarm and eliminate Opposition through orchestrated violence,” said Chakraborty.
Arunima Kar is an independent journalist based in Kolkata.
Read all of The Wire’s reporting on and analysis of the 2024 election results here.
