TMC alleges post-poll violence as many party offices vandalised; BJP denies involvement
Kolkata (PTI): Incidents of arson and vandalism at offices of the Trinamool Congress were reported across West Bengal on Monday as BJP workers celebrated their landslide victory in the state.
Police said TMC offices in Kolkata's Tollygunge and Kasba, in Baruipur, Kamarhati, Baranagar in the suburbs, and in Howrah and Baharampur in the districts were vandalised by mobs since Monday afternoon.
An Election Commission official said strict action will be taken against those involved in the rampage and assault, and reports have been sought from the local police to initiate follow-up action.
BJP Leader Rahul Sinha, however, rejected the charge that any of his party's workers were involved in vandalism, saying it might be the handiwork of rival factions within the TMC, who were letting out their frustration at party leaders following the election results.
At the Bijoygarh-Netajjnagar area in Tollygunge, the election office of TMC candidate and former minister Aroop Biswas was seen vandalised by a mob. Some among the crowd were seen kicking the broken hoarding before leaving.
At Ruby Crossing, the office of TMC councillor Sushanta Ghosh was rampaged by a crowd holding BJP flags.
Condemning the incidents, TMC took to X to say, "The BJP has shown its true colours right after coming to power."
"Their goons led a violent attack on our party office in Murshidabad. Vandalism and chaos -- this is the real face of the BJP. This marks the BJP's descent into gutter politics," it said.
Alleging that its candidate at Udaynarayanpur in Howrah was assaulted, the party said, "Brutal attack on our candidate Samir Panja was a testament to their violent mindset. This is not democracy; this is sheer thuggery."
TMC candidate in north Kolkata's Maniktala, Shreya Pande, shared on social media a clip of a middle-aged party leader with his shirt soaked in blood and alleged that the man was her election agent who was beaten up by BJP workers after the counting of votes.
She lost to the BJP's Tapas Roy by a margin of 15,644 votes.
The TMC posted on social media a video purportedly showing its party office in Siliguri being set ablaze. PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.
In Panihati Assembly constituency, where the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder victim's mother, Ratna Debnath, trounced TMC's Tirthankar Ghosh by 28,836 votes, an office of the Mamata Banerjee-led party changed hands overnight.
TMC Noapara candidate Trinankur Bhattacharya and Barrackpore's Rajb Chakraborty were allegedly manhandled while they were leaving the counting centres and had to be escorted out by CAPF personnel.
BJP's Rahul Sinha condemned the violence, but said that it "cannot be matched with the 2021 situation when our office bearers were attacked by TMC immediately after the counting and several party offices were set on fire, with the state police not taking action".
"This time, however, police and central security forces were taking prompt action," he said.
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Stalin claims DMK secured 1.54 crore votes
Chennai (PTI): DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to the TVK, claimed that the party that won additional constituencies has gained only 17.43 lakh more votes than the DMK.
He was referring to the April 23 Assembly polls where the DMK and its allies secured 74 seats, with the Dravidian party netting 59 constituencies.
In a statement, Stalin said, "the percentage difference in votes between us and them is just 3.52 per cent," in an apparent reference to the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kahzagam emerged victorious in the polls, the results of which were announced on Monday.
Claiming that the DMK alliance has secured 1.54 crore votes, Stalin said, "I consider each and every one of your votes as an invaluable token of trust".
Stating that DMK has been in power several times, he said "there is no victory we have not seen and there is no defeat we have not faced".
"Whether in victory or defeat, those who regard them equally and continue their journey toward their ideals are the comrades of the party", he said adding "you are the lifeblood and roots of the movement".
"The harvest of 1.54 crore votes is the fruit of your commitment", he said.
"What return can I offer for your hard work? With the feeling of being the chief worker, we will continue our journey," the DMK chief added.
Stalin said "if we are the ruling party, we will formulate schemes for the people. If we are the opposition party, we will fight for the people's demands. In that regard, now as a strong opposition party, we will continue to work for the people".
Asserting that the DMK will continue the journey of taking forward the policies of the century-old great Dravidian movement, protecting race, language, and nation, the DMK leader said "in our journey, I will not leave anyone behind. We will win again".
