Following the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, hundreds of BJP workers have fled their villages and homes – a grim situation reminiscent of the 2021 Vidhan Sabha elections and 2023 Panchayat election in the State.
The development was confirmed in a report, published by The Indian Express on Saturday (8th June). While speaking about the matter, a BJP worker named Prasanta Haldar informed, “Election season mane amader ghor chharar season (election season for us means the season of leaving home).”
A resident of Vidyadhar Palli area of Baruipur, Haldar and his family fled home after casting their vote during the 7th Pphase of Lok Sabha elections. He had sent his wife and children to a relative’s house.
BJP workers seek refuse in safe houses
In the meantime, he has sought refuge along with 50 others at the BJP office in Baruipur. Haldar told The Indian Express, “I was forced to leave home in 2021 after the Assembly polls, and then after panchayat polls last year.”
“I was able to get back home in April this year, but now once again, I am homeless. Me and other workers from my village got threats before the Lok Sabha polls, but I still worked for the party. However, on June 2, after the last phase of polls, I left home. I later heard that my home was ransacked,” the BJP worker lamented.
Another party worker named Mamoni Das informed The Indian Express that TMC goons forced her out of her home in Matherdighi village in South 24 Parganas. “Then I lived in rented houses in Sahapara and later Kathpol, but we still got threats,” said added.
Livelihood and safety under threat for BJP workers in West Bengal
Mamoni, who serves as the VP of the BJP Baruipur, informed that 50 TMC goons gheraoed her house on the day of Lok Sabha election result (4th June 2024).
“I hid myself, but the goons beat up my husband and my mother – both were injured. In the early hours of the next day, we left home again, and I took both of them to the hospital. Since then, this party office has been our home,” she lamented.
Similarly, TMC goons harassed another BJP worker named Bikas Roy and took away his e-rickshaw. They also ambushed his residence and issued threats.
“They broke open the lock and took my toto (e-rickshaw) away. How will I earn a living now? That night, I left home and came here. My wife and children are at a relative’s house,” he lamented.
Attack on family members
The plight of BJP workers in Kolkata is no different. About 100 of them are now housed in a building near BJP’s West Bengal headquarters.
A 31-year-old Shanu Pramanik told The Indian Express, “After results were out on June 4, our houses were ransacked by TMC goons. I ran away before they could barge in. We then hid at our relative’s place, and at around 3 am today, we left and reached here at 1 pm.”
“My family members are still there. They have asked us not to go back as threats continue to come in that we would be killed if we returned,” he added.
Another BJP worker named Bishnu Dhali was quick to flee his home and avoid being attacked by TMC goons. “But they severely beat up my aunt. They also ransacked our house, he added.
Calcutta High Court takes cognisance of the matter
On Thursday (6th June), the Calcutta High Court rapped the Mamata Banerjee-led- Trinamool Congress government over post-poll violence in West Bengal.
While hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) into the matter, a 2-Judge Bench of Justices Kausik Chanda and Apurba Sinha Ray said that the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) might be retained in the State for the next 5 years if the government fails to control violence.
“We want to ensure security of the people of the state at any cost,” the court noted. Justice Koushik Chanda pointed out, “Every day, we are watching in the media about post-poll violence. What happened after the last Assembly election, the same thing is happening this time also.”
“You (State) should be ashamed. If the state fails to control this violence, we have to make a decision that in the next five years, the Central forces will stay in this state,” he cautioned.
The court ruled that those aggrieved by post-poll violence can not only lodge their complaints at the nearest police station but almost submit them to the Director General and Inspector General of Police in West Bengal via the emails –[email protected] and [email protected]
Thereafter, the complaints need to be published immediately on the relevant website of the West Bengal Police and brought into the public domain.
