Amid reports of post-poll violence in West Bengal following the BJP’s landslide victory, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday claimed that TMC leaders are attacking TMC leaders.
Speaking to a news agency, Bhattacharya claimed that Barasat TMC candidate Sabyasachi Dutta reached out to him and another one to Dilip Ghosh and informed him that he is being attacked by someone from the TMC.
“The Barasat candidate came to me… What is even more interesting is that our former president, former MP Dilip Ghosh, against whom the TMC candidate was contesting elections… Two hours later, at night, he called Dilip Ghosh. He said, do something. What can I do? He said, my office is being attacked. They are locking the doors. We will die.”
“He (Dilip Ghosh) asked, who is attacking? A name was taken. He said, he is from TMC. He was with you. He said, yes, he is from TMC… So TMC is attacking TMC…,” the BJP leader claimed.
Hours after the election results, at least four persons were killed in alleged post-poll clashes across West Bengal, with both the BJP and the TMC accusing each other of orchestrating the attacks.
The BJP alleged that two of its workers were killed in New Town in North 24 Parganas and Udaynarayanpur in Howrah.
The TMC also said that two of its workers were killed in Beleghata in Kolkata and Nanoor in Birbhum. Both parties accused each other of killing their workers.
The TMC also alleged that its party offices across the state were also attacked by BJP workers.
“BJP’s ‘Poriborton’ has arrived, and it has arrived with a bulldozer,” the TMC said on X along with a purported video showing a JCB machine ransacking temporary shops as people holding BJP flags shouted slogans.
“In an act of brazen hooliganism and gundagardi, mobs of BJP supporters went on a rampage near the New Market area, destroying shops and vandalising the Trinamool Congress party office. This is the celebration of a party that spoke of trust and delivered terror,” the TMC said.
Meanwhile, the ECI has directed the state’s chief secretary, director general of police and CAPFs deployed in the state to ensure zero tolerance towards post-poll violence in the state.