What Bengal thinks today India thinks tomorrow – These words by Gopal Krishna Gokhale describe the historical significance of Bengal, imagining its future as a progressive state.
Unfortunately, West Bengal didn’t quite live up to Gokhale’s words. The violence that followed the Bengal election results is anything but democratic or progressive. After Mamata Banerjee led All Indian Trinamool Congress (TMC) restored power for the third consecutive term, several areas witnessed bloodshed, mob violence, and brandishing of lathis and iron rods. Amidst the violence, on May 17, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested three TMC MLAs and a former minister, which caused more drama.
The 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections were marred by incidents of post-poll violence in several parts of the state. The violence began soon after the election results were announced on May 2, 2021, and continued for several weeks, resulting in the deaths of several people, rapes and widespread destruction of property.
The violence was largely concentrated in areas where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won seats or performed well in the election and was allegedly carried out by supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). There were reports of attacks on BJP workers and supporters, as well as on their homes and businesses. There were also reports of violence against members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities.
The violence attracted widespread criticism from various quarters, including the central government, opposition parties, and human rights organizations. The central government sent a team of officials to West Bengal to assess the situation and report back to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The TMC government in West Bengal was criticized for not doing enough to control the violence and for allegedly supporting the perpetrators. However, the TMC denied these allegations and accused the BJP of inciting violence.
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