An exodus of TMC workers, especially councillors in different municipalities across West Bengal, towards the resurgent BJP, has coincided with a trail of violence. The ruling party in the State observed a “black day” on Thursday in mourning for the killing of two TMC workers in the past two days.

While Nirmal Kundu, a TMC worker in 24 Parganas district, was shot dead by bike-borne assailants on Tuesday, on Wednesday, another TMC worker Ajijar Ali was killed in Cooch Behar.

Blood-for-blood

The killings have triggered a “blood-for-blood” call from the State Food Minister Jyotipriya Mallick. The TMC has accused the BJP of organising both the alleged murders. The police have arrested two persons, allegedly linked to the BJP, in the killing of Nirmal Kundu.

The BJP, on its part, has accused the ruling party of demolishing “law and order” in the State. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to visit the family of Nirmal Kundu.

Mallick said the killings have been organised by the BJP. “This has been done by the BJP workers. The accused BJP leader is connected with the supari killer who murdered Nirmal Kundu.”

He added: “Nirmal Kundu was our popular leader. The TMC secured a lead of 600 votes from his booth. Who is the mastermind of this murder? Is he a don of Bhatpar or Bijapur? We have started a political fight. If they want blood, they will get a reply in blood.”

Significantly, Bhatpara, the area being mentioned by the Minister, is the first civic body where the BJP has wrested control with most of the TMC councillors joining the party this week. In the votes counted on Wednesday, the BJP bagged 26 of the 34 wards in Bhatpara as the TMC councillors sided with the BJP.

A similar operation is under way in the Siliguri area where the BJP is affecting a shift of councillors in the Darjeeling municipality, where 17 councillors of the BJP-aligned Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Bimal Gurung group) had moved a No-Confidence motion against Prathiva Rai Tamang, the chairperson of the municipality.

Prathiva Rai Tamang and Binay Tamang, who control the Darjeeling municipality, are aligned with the Trinamool Congress. But after the BJP won both the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat as well as the Darjeeling Assembly polls with support from Bimal Grung group, the latter has moved fast to wrest control of the municipality.

According to Siliguri District President of the BJP Abhijit Roy Chowdhury, almost 5000-6000 political workers from the TMC as well as the Congress and the Left have requested to join the BJP since the Lok Sabha election results came out on May 23.

He told BusinessLine over phone: “We have to verify the credentials of these workers carefully. They are moving because of the popular surge towards the BJP. Just look at the vote share of the BJP in the Assembly segments in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat. In some segments, the vote share crosses 63.94 per cent.” . In Matigara Naxalbari Assembly segment in Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, the BJP’s vote share was 63.94 per cent. In Siliguri, it was 62.71 per cent.

He said people are fed up of the kind of authoritarianism and violence that the TMC has unleashed in the past decade. They are gravitating to the BJP because it offers a platform for resistance.

“For, instance, in the last panchayat polls, people were not allowed to vote. Opposition candidates were not allowed to contest elections. There is popular anger against it and the BJP offers a resistance. That is why there is a mass exodus towards us. As far as violence is concerned, it has been a part of Bengal politics. This time, it is happening for different reasons,” said Roychowdhury.

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