Police have registered a First Information Report against Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee over alleged provocative campaign speeches, intensifying West Bengal’s post-election confrontation after a bruising Assembly contest that ended the party’s long hold on power.
The case was lodged at Bidhannagar North Cyber Crime Police Station after a complaint by Rajib Sarkar, described as a social worker, accused Banerjee of making inflammatory remarks during the campaign and issuing threats directed at Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Banerjee, the Lok Sabha member from Diamond Harbour and national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, has not been convicted of any offence, and the allegations will be tested through investigation and legal proceedings.
The complaint, filed on May 5, a day after the Assembly election results were declared, alleged that Banerjee delivered speeches between April 27 and May 3 at multiple campaign venues that were intended to create enmity, disturb public order and influence the electoral atmosphere. It also cited a purported remark from an April 7 pre-poll event in Kolkata, where he allegedly said he would see “which godfather from Delhi” came to protect his opponents after the results.
Police have invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those linked to rioting, promoting enmity between groups, criminal intimidation and statements prejudicial to public tranquillity. The FIR also refers to provisions of the Representation of the People Act dealing with undue influence and promoting enmity during an election. The use of these provisions gives the case both a criminal and electoral dimension, raising the political stakes for the Trinamool leadership.
The timing has sharpened the confrontation. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in West Bengal has transformed the state’s political balance, with the Trinamool Congress pushed into opposition after 15 years in office. The BJP won a commanding majority, while the Trinamool’s tally fell sharply, prompting internal pressure, public recriminations and a dispute over whether the mandate reflected voter choice or institutional bias.
Banerjee has alleged that the election process was compromised and that Trinamool candidates and counting agents were removed from several counting centres. He has also accused the Centre of failing to prevent attacks on party workers after the results. The BJP has rejected the allegations and has presented the verdict as a decisive rejection of Trinamool rule, citing public anger over corruption charges, law-and-order concerns and political violence.
Mamata Banerjee, the former chief minister and Trinamool chairperson, appeared before the Calcutta High Court in connection with a petition on alleged post-poll violence. She claimed that party offices had been vandalised, workers displaced and supporters targeted across several districts. The court directed the West Bengal government to maintain law and order and ensure the safe return of displaced people irrespective of party affiliation.
The FIR against Abhishek Banerjee now places the Trinamool’s second-most prominent leader at the centre of a legal battle at a sensitive moment for the party. His role has expanded over the past decade from campaign strategist to national general secretary, and he has been central to the party’s attempts to expand beyond Bengal and to counter the BJP’s organisational rise in the state.
For the BJP-led administration in Kolkata, the case offers an early test of how it handles politically charged investigations. Any perception of selective action could fuel Trinamool’s charge of vendetta politics, while failure to pursue complaints linked to election speeches may invite criticism from BJP supporters who expect tougher enforcement after the change in government.
