Decode Politics: As Sandeshkhali simmers, why there is unease in TMC about its political fallout

Violence in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district continues to remain a political hot potato, with Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee accusing the BJP of attempting to incite a riot and the Opposition targeting thestate government for not allowing its leaders to visit the area.

National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Monday said 18 complaints had been received from women in Sandeshkhali, of which two are complaints of rape. On February 12, Union Minister Smriti Irani alleged that “Hindu” women from lower castes had been “raped” regularly by TMC workers. The state police ruled out a communal angle in the violence.

What happened in Sandeshkhali last month?

On January 5, three Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers were injured in an attack when ateam of the central agency was on its way to raid the home of local TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan in the alleged ration scam. Shahjahan has been absconding since then.

What triggered the latest round of violence?

On February 8, over a month since Shahjahan disappeared, a group of local women wielding brooms and sticks took to the streets of Sandeshkhali and demanded the immediate arrest of the TMC strongman and his associates Shibu Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar. The following day, the women protesters set a poultry farm owned by Hazra on fire, with several local people alleging that the poultry farm functioned from a land the TMC leader had grabbed. The farm had become a centre for several illicit operations, they alleged, with women alleging Shahjahan and his supporters had been exploiting them for years.

This sparked a political war of words between the TMC and the Opposition, especially the BJP, which