At least 100 alleged BJP workers came on bikes to “ransack and capture” at least six Trinamul party offices in East Midnapore’s Khejuri, known as a stronghold of former transport minister Suvendu Adhikari, late on Friday, hours after he resigned from the state cabinet.

“Late on Friday night, some hundred people stormed the area on bikes, raised pro-BJP slogans before vandalising the offices and setting furniture on fire. They threw Trinamul flags and hoisted those of the BJP at six party offices in the area,” said a Khejuri resident, who lives near the “captured” party office in Alichowk. “BJP supporters” captured Trinamul party offices at Birbandar, Patna and Conthibari in Khejuri-I and three in Khejuri-II’s Bansgora area, he added.

The scenes were reminiscent of Trinamul capturing 151 Left party offices in Nandigram and Khejuri stamping its dominance in the region with Adhikari defeating CPM’s Lakshman Seth to bag the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, pointed out many villagers.

Trinamul leaders, who did not wish to be named, linked Friday’s incident to Adhikari’s resignation from Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet. Though the local BJP leadership tried to distance themselves from it, CPM leaders, including Khejuri’s Himanshu Das, called it “payback time” for TMC.

CPM veteran Sujan Chakraborty said the “culture of capturing (rival) party offices was started by Mamata Banerjee’s party”.

BJP’s mandal chief in Khejuri, Suman Das, said the capture of Trinamul offices was “not organised” and an “outburst” of people’s anger.

On Saturday, Trinamul workers blocked the Heria-Boga state highway in Khejuri from 8am for two hours and demanded the arrest of those responsible for capturing party offices. Later, Trinamul workers threw away BJP flags and hoisted their own at one captured party office.
“BJP goons have been sent to disturb peace in Khejuri. They need to be punished,” said Birbandar gram panchayat chief and Trinamul leader Sheikh Nowsher Ali.

Adhikari, who resigned from the ministry, is yet to resign from Trinamul or announce plans of joining the BJP, as is widely speculated. TMC block president Biman Nayak played down the incident and said Adhikari was “still with Trinamul”. But local Trinamul leaders are worried about Nandigram and Khejuri in case Adhikari, who has a strong mass appeal here, resigns from the party.

“Trinamul is in shock mode now. We are waking up to the reality that the BJP is emerging as a force in the region,” said a Trinamul leader preferring to be anonymous.

Beyond East Midnapore, ripples of Adhikari’s resignation from the ministry were felt in Hooghly’s Kanaipur, where Trinamul supporters tore down several flex banners put up by Adhikari’s supporters, and set them on fire.

They chanted there was “only one leader in Trinamul, and it was Mamata Banerjee and no one else”.