Political violence has flared across parts of West Bengal following the state election results, with members of the Muslim minority community alleging intimidation and targeted attacks amid clashes between supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Tensions escalated further on Wednesday night after Chandranath Rath, executive assistant to senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead near Kolkata airport, intensifying fears of a wider breakdown in law and order in the state capital and surrounding districts.
Police have registered around 200 cases linked to post-election violence and arrested more than 430 people across West Bengal, according to Indian media reports. More than 1,000 others have reportedly been detained as a preventive measure. At least four people have died in clashes since election results were declared earlier this week.
Residents in several Muslim-majority neighbourhoods of Kolkata said they feared the unrest could increasingly take on a communal dimension as BJP supporters celebrated the party’s electoral gains in the state.
“Things had just started calming down, but after last night people are scared again,” Faizan Hayat, a bike-taxi driver from Topsia, a predominantly Muslim locality in eastern Kolkata told news website Scroll. “Everyone is worried about what may happen next.”
Locals in Topsia said clashes broke out on Tuesday night after BJP supporters allegedly attempted to vandalise a TMC office in the area. Residents claimed groups carrying saffron flags entered the locality during victory celebrations, prompting confrontations with TMC workers and local residents before police intervened.
“They wanted to remove Trinamool posters and take over the office,” said Firoz Shah, a footwear manufacturer, was quoted by the media outlet “People from the neighbourhood came out to stop them.”
Residents also expressed concern over reports from nearby leather-producing areas that some BJP supporters were pressuring traders to stop dealing in cow leather, a sensitive issue for many Muslims involved in the trade. The fears come ahead of Eid-al-Adha later this month, when animal sacrifice is traditionally observed.
The BJP has denied allegations of targeting minorities and has accused TMC workers of orchestrating violence against its supporters after the election results.
The killing of Rath, a close aide to Adhikari — widely seen as a leading BJP face in Bengal politics — further heightened tensions on Thursday. Police cordoned off the area where he was shot dead late Wednesday in a narrow lane about 6 km north of Kolkata airport.
Broken glass from Rath’s vehicle remained scattered across the street as security personnel and investigators examined the site.
For many residents living near the scene, however, the violence underscored a deeper frustration that ordinary people were paying the price for political conflict.
“We poor people have nothing to do with these parties,” said Champa Chakraborty, a garment factory worker who lives near the shooting site, was quoted in the same report. “But whenever violence happens, we are the ones who suffer.”
Daily wage workers said disruptions caused by barricades, fear and clashes had affected their livelihoods.
Arijit Das, an employee at a nearby meat shop, said he narrowly avoided losing a day’s income because police eventually allowed him through the security cordon. “The rich are not affected,” he said. “Only poor people face problems when these incidents happen.”
Across Kolkata, traders reported that businesses remained subdued days after the election results.
At New Market, one of the city’s oldest commercial centres, shopkeepers said customer footfall had sharply declined amid fears of unrest.
Mohammed Ishaque, who has sold cigarettes and soft drinks near the market since the 1980s, said election-related violence was not new in Bengal but added that the atmosphere this time felt more tense.
“Usually things improve quickly after results,” Scroll quoted him saying. “But now the market still feels deserted.”
Nearby stood a damaged TMC office allegedly attacked during a BJP victory procession earlier this week. Witnesses said a bulldozer — increasingly seen as a political symbol associated with hardline Hindu nationalist politics — was used to partially demolish the structure.
A BJP flag now hangs over the damaged office.
Some residents said they had grown cynical about all political parties in the state, accusing cadres across ideological lines of using intimidation and street-level muscle power.
“The faces change, but the methods stay the same,” said Nasir Khan, who runs a tea stall nearby.