West Bengal assembly elections 2026: The supporters of the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Janata Unnayan Party on Thursday clashed in the Nowda area, wielding lathis, hurling stones and damaging vehicles parked along the roadside. Security forces moved in swiftly to bring the situation under control and disperse those involved.
The trouble had its roots in the previous night. Crude bombs were hurled in Nowda late on Wednesday, injuring a woman in the process. An eyewitness put the time of the incident between 8 and 8:30 PM. “We cannot say who was involved in it. We are very scared; another incident could happen at any moment,” the witness said, adding that the arrival of political leaders in the area had only heightened fears of further unrest.
AUJP founder Humayun Kabir visited Nowda on Thursday morning in the aftermath of the bombing and promptly organised a sit-in protest, alleging that a police officer had lathi-charged his supporters overnight and demanding the officer’s immediate transfer.
“We want the Nowda police officer who lathi-charged my supporters overnight. This should not be done,” Kabir said. “The Election Commission should take action on them. A new officer should be posted there. Until then, I will keep sitting here in protest. My people are being hit and threatened. This should not happen. Election Commission should take action against the TMC workers who did all this.”
The police, for their part, acknowledged using a mild lathi charge to manage the crowd but denied that the situation had spiralled out of control.
With tensions showing little sign of easing, the Election Commission of India sought a report from the District Magistrate and District Election Officer on the Nowda clashes. Additional security personnel were deployed to the area as the standoff between party workers and police continued through the polling hours.
Thursday’s violence is the latest flashpoint in what has become one of the most fiercely contested state elections in recent memory. West Bengal is voting across 294 Assembly seats in two phases, 152 constituencies in the first phase on 23 April and the remaining 142 on 29 April, with 1,478 candidates in the fray in the opening round alone. Counting is scheduled for 4 May.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is bidding for a fourth consecutive term at the helm, while the BJP, which won 77 seats in the last election, is making its most concerted push yet to displace the TMC and form a government in the state. Between them, and now complicated further by the presence of Kabir’s AUJP, the contest has rarely felt more volatile.
(With agencies’ inputs)
