A mob chased and attacked Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday (May 30, 2026) at Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, during his visit to the residence of a party worker allegedly killed in the recent post-poll violence. He later called it a “BJP-sponsored attack”.
The mob threw eggs and shoes at the Trinamool leader as security personnel tried to shield him from the mob, which was raising ‘chor chor ( thief thief)’ slogans. Mr. Banerjee had to put on a helmet but the crowd kept chasing him, raising slogans and throwing projectiles at him all the way till the residence of the deceased party worker. Videos aired by local television channels and circulated on social media showed locals trying to pull his hand and shirt, while he tried to duck his attackers. Some of eggs thrown at the Trinamool leader hit his helmet and his shirt was soiled and torn.
Mr. Banerjee remained holed up in the house as a large number of locals and BJP supporters, mostly women, gathered outside. The women, who were carrying eggs, said they will not leave till they settle their scores with him. The crowd expressed their displeasure on a number of issues, particularly over the Trinamool leader’s earlier remark that he would play DJ (disc jockey) music after the election results were announced, an oblique reference to settling scores with political rivals.
The impasse continued in Sonarpur for over an hour. The police and Central forces arrived at the site and escorted him out of the house.
After returning from Sonarpur, Mr. Banerjee was treated at two hospitals in Kolkata but was not admitted in either of them.
Trinamool chairperson Mamata Banerjee visited the nephew at a hospital. Earlier she shared a video of Mr. Banerjee being attacked by the mob and wrote, “ RULERS BECAME KILLERS- shame on you BJP”.
Amidst reports of several Trinamool workers being targeted after the BJP won the election in West Bengal, Mr. Banerjee had announced that from Saturday (May 30), he would visit the residences of party workers affected by the post-poll violence. Earlier in the day, he met the relatives of a Trinamool Congress worker allegedly killed in the post-poll violence, at Beleghata in Kolkata. He faced angry protesters when he visited the residence of another deceased Trinamool worker at ward number nine of Rajpur Sonarpur Municipality, located in the southern fringes of Kolkata.
#WATCH | Sonarpur, West Bengal: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee says, "...They wanted to kill me... The whole incident has been captured on camera. We will definitely let the high court know about this. We will also let the governor know about this... I will definitely move to court..." https://t.co/MIZUJSZi3ypic.twitter.com/LWBApD95oC
Speaking to the accompanying mediapersons, Mr. Banerjee said: “They want to kill me. Even if my dead body is taken out from the place, I will not leave the place without speaking to the parents of Sanju (the dead party worker Sanju Karmakar).”
“My head was somehow spared; fortunately, I was wearing a helmet. They have torn my clothes and broken my spectacles,” the Trinamool leader said. “Look at what they [BJP] have done. This is their example of democracy. It hasn’t even been a month, and the police are nowhere to be seen,” he told mediapersons accompanying him to Sonarpur.
West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya appealed for calm and said violence should have no place in a democracy.
“If the Trinamool had come to power, 500 of our workers would have been killed and I would not be standing here. Why did not he come to campaign for Falta (Assembly re-poll). There is anger among the people but there is no space for violence in democracy,” the BJP leader said.
While there have been several instances of local level Trinamool Congress workers being attacked by angry locals after May 4, when the BJP stormed to power in West Bengal, the attack on Mr. Banerjee, who is the number two in the party is unprecedented.
Condemning the attack, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “The Government of West Bengal and the Union Government must ensure security for all Opposition leaders and take immediate steps to prevent such attacks. Political differences can never justify any kind of violence.”
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi called the attack a “disgusting display of the BJP’s vendetta politics”.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav called the attack “utterly condemnable”. “By orchestrating a murderous attack on Shri Abhishek Banerjee ji, a key leader of the Trinamool Congress in Bengal, the anarchic BJP government in Bengal has proven that the BJP is capable of nothing but hate-filled, negative, violent politics,” Mr. Yadav posted on social media
Strongly condemn the shocking attack on MP Shri Abhishek Banerjee in Sonarpur, as he went to meet the families affected by post-poll violence in the state.
The deliberate lack of adequate police protection for a prominent Opposition leader speaks volumes about the BJP's…
Earlier in the day, a team of officials of the CID of the West Bengal Police visited the Trinamool leader’s residence in Kolkata and served a notice on Mr. Banerjee, summoning him to CID West Bengal Office Bhabani Bhawan at noon on June 1.
Published - May 30, 2026 05:47 pm IST
Kolkata / India / Bengal / All India Trinamool Congress
Source: The Hindu - India News
