Representational.
Kolkata: Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party secured victory in the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections and the previous government led by Mamata Banerjee was formally dissolved on May 7, several incidents of post-poll violence and communal tension have been reported from different parts of the state, according to Siasat.
Multiple videos circulating on social media allegedly show BJP supporters marching through localities carrying saffron flags and raising religious slogans. Some clips reportedly show groups applying sindoor on public artefacts and portraits, damaging statues, renaming streets and targeting properties associated with the All India Trinamool Congress. In one incident, a bulldozer was allegedly used to demolish a TMC office along with a nearby meat shop.
On counting day, May 4, a mob linked to Hindutva groups was reportedly filmed vandalising the Haji Ali Restaurant in North 24 Parganas while police personnel were present at the scene. The video surfaced online on May 8 and triggered criticism over the administration’s response.
Another video showed BJP flags placed on a temporary stage erected outside a mosque, where supporters were seen dancing to loud music. Meanwhile, the TMC shared visuals alleging that BJP workers had “defaced” portraits of figures, including Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Mother Teresa, by applying sindoor on their foreheads.
Tension was also reported outside Azad Hind College in Domjur, Howrah, where a group of men allegedly threatened female students against wearing burqas and declared that “this is not a madrasa.”
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee condemned the incidents, alleging that Muslim women and students were facing intimidation and harassment. He said attacks targeting minority identity in educational spaces raised serious concerns about safety and constitutional rights in the state.
“Such threatening remarks by individuals allegedly backed by BJP-linked hooligan elements expose the dangerous rise of aggressive majoritarian politics after assuming power,” Banerjee wrote on X. “When women from minority communities are targeted, and their religious identity is openly attacked in educational spaces, it raises serious concerns about their safety, dignity, and constitutional rights in Bengal.”
Meanwhile, debates have intensified over the silence of the BJP leadership, which has denied involvement in the reported violence.