Trinamool alleges continued post-poll violence in West Bengal

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership has again raised allegations of post-poll violence in West Bengal, with deaths, arson, and vandalism continuing in parts of the State. The statues of tribal leaders Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu had been vandalised in north Bengal, Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged. 

“This is not mere vandalism. It is a direct attack on Adivasi pride, history and the identity of Bengal’s tribal communities. The same people who seek votes in the name of tribal welfare remain silent when the icons revered by tribal society are repeatedly disrespected,” Mr. Banerjee wrote in a social media post, and shared a video of the allegedly vandalised statues. 

On Sunday (May 10, 2026), the TMC also claimed that one of its workers, Sahadeb Bag (40) from Goghat in Hooghly district, had been killed due to political violence.  

Post-poll violence has been reported from multiple parts of the State, with both the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming their workers and members had been affected by post-poll clashes. 

The TMC also alleged that in Purba Medinipur’s Khejuri area at least 10 shops had been set ablaze by “BJP miscreants” on Sunday night. “This is the true face of the politics preached by @AmitShah and @BJP4India - division, fear and targeted violence carried out with complete impunity. Where are the Central Forces now?” Mr. Banerjee posted to social media. 

This comes a day after Mr. Banerjee had made similar allegations on the “barbaric” torching of “at least 60 shops” on Saturday night. “This is not an attack on any particular community but rather an attack on the Bengal’s social harmony,” Mr. Banerjee said.  

The local BJP MLA, Subrata Paik from Khejuri, denied the allegations, and seeking a detailed probe, said that the fire may be due to a short circuit. 

In one of the most talked about incidents of post-poll violence, Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead at point blank range on May 6. Whether this was a politically motivated murder has not been confirmed by the police. 

Meanwhile, in a dramatically opposite turn of events, in the Dakshin Howrah area, BJP workers returned a TMC party office to TMC members. 

“We do not believe in forcefully capturing someone’s party office or beating up people. Neither have we done this before, nor will we do it now,” a local BJP leader in Howrah told reporters while ‘officially returning’ the TMC’s office to the party workers. 

At least 700 companies of Central forces were to be retained in West Bengal at least for 60 days after the election to control and contain any incidents of post-poll violence. 

However, even though the election was largely peaceful, apart from a few incidents of sporadic violence, the number of incidents of violence rose sharply immediately after the results were published. 

This came after several TMC offices across the State had already been taken over by the BJP, and many were vandalised after the May 4 election results.