As West Bengal voted in the first phase on Thursday, April 23, the script felt all too familiar. Long queues at polling booths, heavy deployment of forces - and, almost inevitably, violence breaking out across districts. From Murshidabad to Cooch Behar, from Siliguri to Malda, reports of clashes, attacks and intimidation poured in, repeating the grim pattern of violence that has come to define elections in the state. For decades now, Bengal's elections have carried a dual identity: a democratic exercise on paper, and a street battle on the ground.
The latest incidents underline how quickly tensions escalate once polling begins in the state. In Murshidabad, miscreants attacked the car of Humayun Kabir, chief of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AUJP) and candidate from Rejinagar. Armed with sticks and bricks, the attackers attacked his vehicle, triggering chaos in the area. Kabir did not hold back in his reaction.
"The public will give a reply to TMC. TMC's 'goondagiri' will end on 4th May 2026. I was suddenly attacked. At the time when my people gathered to take action, the police lathi-charged them. Additional SP Majeed Khan should be suspended. He is the real criminal and TMC 'dalal'," he alleged.
In Asansol, BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul's convoy came under attack during voting. Stones were hurled at her vehicle near booth number 135 in Rahmat Nagar, shattering the rear windshield.
Agnimitra Paul's convoy came under attack in Asansol
Elsewhere, in South Dinajpur, BJP candidate Subhendu Sarkar was assaulted and chased through fields by suspected Trinamool Congress workers. He was eventually rescued by police. In Birbhum, a BJP booth agent was reportedly beaten, with the party again blaming TMC cadres. Visuals from another incident showed a BJP leader arriving at a hospital, bloodied.
Election violence in West Bengal is not new. From the era of Left Front dominance to the current Trinamool Congress rule, allegations of booth capturing, voter intimidation, political killings and targeted assaults have persisted. Each election brings promises of "free and fair polls", and each election, those promises are tested - often violently.
Booth capturing, once associated with Bihar in the 1990s, has long been a part of Bengal's political vocabulary. So has "scientific rigging," a term that entered public discourse during the Left era. Today, the methods may have evolved, but the objective remains the same: control the vote.
In many areas, local dominance matters more than party ideology. Political workers act as enforcers, ensuring turnout in their favour while discouraging opposition voters. The result is a climate where elections are less about persuasion and more about control.
The persistence of poll violence in Bengal stems from a mix of political, social and administrative factors. First, the stakes are extraordinarily high. Elections in the state are often seen as winner-takes-all contests, where control over local administration, resources and patronage networks is at play. Losing is not just political - it can mean losing ground, influence and protection.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
