On Wednesday, May 22, a BJP woman karyakarta was found murdered in the Sonachura area in West Bengal’s Nandigram district. The deceased identified as Rathibala Ari, was amongst the several BJP workers who were allegedly attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers last night.
Rathibala Ari had sustained severe injuries in the attack. She succumbed to her injuries last night. The incident occurred two days before the state is scheduled to go into the sixth phase of polling for the Lok Sabha election on May 25. According to reports, TMC workers attacked the BJP workers with sharp weapons while they were guarding the polling booth.
The deceased woman’s son was also amongst the seven BJP workers who were seriously injured in the attack. He was shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata. Meanwhile, the other injured workers were shifted to Nandigram Super Speciality for treatment. Nandigram police officials have, however, not arrested anyone in this incident so far.
The state unit of BJP has launched a protest and called for a 12-hour bandh in Nandigram.
In protest against the murder of BJP Karyakarta Smt. Rathibala Ari, our workers are currently performing road blockade at Nandigram. A bandh is also being observed in the area pic.twitter.com/Ie9jxqnWX8
— Sudhanidhi Bandyopadhyay (@SudhanidhiB) May 23, 2024
Taking to X, the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal and BJP MLA from Nandigram, Suvendu Adhikari said, “BJP workers were guarding the booth in Mansabazar area of Sonachura in Nandigram last night. At that time, the grassroots miscreants jumped on them with sharp weapons. 7 people were seriously injured by sharp weapons. Rathibala Adi lost his life.”
সনাতনী শহীদ বীরাঙ্গনা রথীবালা আড়ি অমর রহে 🙏
— Suvendu Adhikari (Modi Ka Parivar) (@SuvenduWB) May 23, 2024
গতকাল রাতে নন্দীগ্রামের সোনাচূড়ার মনসাবাজার এলাকায় বিজেপি কর্মীরা বুথ পাহারা দিচ্ছিলেন। সেইসময় ধারাল অস্ত্র নিয়ে তাঁদের ওপর ঝাঁপিয়ে পড়ে তৃণমূলী দুষ্কৃতীরা।
৭ জন ধারাল অস্ত্রের আঘাতে গুরুতর আহত হন। প্রাণ হারান রথীবালা আড়ি।… pic.twitter.com/JpTWR32Jug
“This bloodshed is the direct result of the provocation given by the brother in Nandigram yesterday. The Trinamool committed this barbaric murder knowing defeat for sure. These jihadists do not hesitate to kill a woman! The Bharatiya Janata Party will see the end of it, legally retaliated and democratically answered. The answer is appropriate when the bloodshed in the struggling land of Nandigram has disappeared from the pages of history, ” read his post on X.
The Trinamool Congress party has, however, denied any links with the violence and claimed it was an internal feud among the BJP workers which led to the clashes.
Mamata Banerjee ‘vowes’ to avenge her 2021 loss in Nandigram
The attack came a week after West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said that she would “avenge” her 2021 Assembly poll defeat in Nandigram to the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.
While campaigning for Trinamool’s Tamluk candidate Debangshu Bhattacharya, who was facing off against the BJP’s Abhijit Gangopadhyay, Mamata issued her challenge at Adhikari’s home ground of Haldia in East Midnapore.
“Let me make it clear that I will avenge my defeat in Nandigram. I have not forgotten it. BJP will not be there all the time, neither the ED nor the CBI will cradle him (Adhikari) throughout his life. Not even the NIA or the income tax department will be with him forever. I will settle the score at any cost,” Mamata said at the public meeting in Haldia.
West Bengal, has already witnessed poll violence in the first five phases of the polling during Lok Sabha elections, with several reports of assault, intimidation, and even hospitalisation of several BJP workers emerging since the first phase of polls.
Prior to this, an 18-year-old BJP worker was found dead in Purba Medinipur district on Friday (26th April). The deceased was identified as Dinabondhu Middya, a BJP worker.
Dinabondhu Middya was found in a betel-leaf farm in Goramahal village in the Mayna area of the district. As per reports, it is alleged that his body was found in a suspicious state as while it was hanging, parts of the body were touching the ground and there were injury marks as well.
Following the incident, Middya’s family accused TMC leaders of “kidnapping and murdering” him. However, the state’s ruling party, Trinamool Congress rejected the charge.
Recently on May 20, there was a clash between BJP candidate Arjun Singh and TMC workers in Barrackpore, Bengal. This altercation took place in the presence of the police. Arjun Singh had gone to the spot to verify a woman’s allegations that she was not being allowed to vote.
Similarly, a BJP Panchayat Deputy Head Tapan Bagh was also attacked amid reports of clashes with TMC workers in Arambagh’s Khanakul town during the fifth phase of polling. As per reports, Tapan Bagh suffered severe head injuries in the clashes.
Meanwhile, according to ABP Ananda, 471 complaints were registered with the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the first two hours of polling during the fifth phase. The principal opposition party in the state, BJP, has submitted 22 complaints while CPI-M has given 25 complaints. Incidentally, the ruling party in the state, Trinamool Congress has also submitted 30 complaints to the ECI.
