Contai in East Midnapore turned into a battleground on Saturday over the elections to the Kanthi Cooperative Bank, with allegations and counter-allegations flying between the Trinamul Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and CPI-M.

Tensions escalated as violence broke out during the polling process, leading to injuries and political outrage. CPI-M central committee member Sujan Chakraborty criticised TMC MLA Akhil Giri, stating: “He has turned a cooperative election into a caricature. This is unacceptable. He was once a minister but lost his position due to controversial remarks about the President of India and others. Yet, his behaviour remains unchanged. Elections in this state are synonymous with chaos, be it the Kanthi Cooperative elections or the Indian Medical Association or doctors’ council polls.”

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The BJP also lashed out at the ruling party. Senior BJP leader Sajal Ghosh condemned Giri’s actions, saying: “Akhil Giri has insulted the police, calling them ‘animals.’ Ironically, the police work under chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The way he ran around, like a goon, despite being a veteran MLA is shameful. It looks like ‘Kurukshetra war’ in the name of cooperative bank election.”

The situation worsened when Akhil Giri alleged that he was attacked while trying to stop fake voters from casting ballots. “The police assaulted us. They denied votes to people carrying photocopies of their documents and kept harassing voters. Does a cooperative bank card hold no validity? When we protested, I was physically assaulted,” Giri claimed, adding that he sustained injuries on his hand. The election has become a power struggle between political factions. The BJP accused TMC of preventing its supporters from voting through intimidation and violence, even vandalising BJP’s camp office.

Conversely, TMC accused BJP of bribing voters and resorting to threats to sway the election. Reports suggest that legitimate shareholders were being denied their voting rights over document verification issues. Voters without specific slips were allegedly barred from casting their votes, leading to further unrest. The BJP MP, Dibyendu Adhikari, mocked the ruling party over Giri’s assault claims. “It is indeed unfortunate that a TMC MLA is being attacked by the police. The police are their own people. If the allegations against them are true, an investigation is necessary. However, our sources indicate that it was Giri himself who incited violence.”

Clashes and disturbances were reported from multiple locations, including Kanthi, Egra, and Ramnagar. The elections were conducted across 13 polling stations in the Contai-Egra sub-division, covering 78 seats and over 58,000 voters. The town of Contai, known as the stronghold of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, witnessed the most intense confrontations, turning it into a virtual war zone. With violence marring the election process, political tempers continue to flare.