Suvendu Adhikari went to Sandeshkhali on Tuesday, a day after Mamata Banerjee’s visit, to mount a scathing and communally tainted counteroffensive.

The BJP MLA and leader of the Opposition declared that if the BJP came to power in Bengal, it would form a commission to probe into the “atrocities” unleashed by a section of Trinamool’s local leadership in the Sunderbans island.

Trinamool turncoat Adhikari claimed the people of Sandeshkhali would never “forget or forgive” the atrocities that captured national attention through the first half of 2024.

At a public meeting in the island area on the pretext of the BJP’s membership drive in Bengal, Adhikari peppered his address with communal remarks.

“(Minorities) do not vote for BJP. They even prevent (the majority) in their areas from casting votes. Even if the Centre offers them big money, they will not vote for the BJP. It has become clear. So why should we be liberal? It should be give-and-take,” he said in one such remark.

The Nandigram MLA went on to add that Mamata would be “imprisoned” as a result of the probe once the BJP came to power in Bengal, while repeatedly urging voters of one community to unite against her and in favour of the BJP ahead of the bypoll for the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency, which contains Sandeshkhali. The seat fell vacant following the demise of Trinamool MP Haji Nurul Islam in September 2024.

“It is unfortunate that Mamata Banerjee said she would like to forget (look past, move on from) what happened here in Sandeshkhali. But no one in Sandeshkhali will forget the atrocities unleashed by her men. Once the BJP comes to power in Bengal, an investigating commission will be set up to probe these atrocities,” Adhikari said.

He accused the Trinamool-led state government of implicating Sandeshkhali women in false cases for protesting against the alleged atrocities and claimed many whistleblowers were falsely charged.

“There will definitely be revenge, but according to the law and within the constitutional framework,” he claimed, adding that Mamata and her “goons” had colluded with the state police to carry out “barbaric torture”.

“She claimed to have forgotten the past of Sandeshkhali and practically asked everyone to forget it. She should have asked the women of Sandeshkhali if they had forgotten the atrocities,” he said.

Adhikari alleged that the field from where Mamata addressed her audience had been seized by suspended and arrested Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan.

“Mamata Banerjee avoids mentioning incidents of land-grab, misuse of funds from the 100-day job scheme, looting of housing benefits, and atrocities against women because they would embarrass her. But the women of Sandeshkhali will not forget,” he claimed.

Adhikari also accused the state government of using its financial resources for political doles while hindering central welfare schemes.

He repeatedly urged BJP workers to strategise to win elections without hoping for minority votes. “I have won without (minority) votes, and so secured victories for others, like my brother and Abhijit Gangopadhyay. We can win (majority-dominated) seats similarly,” he said, announcing a Bhagavad Gita distribution programme in certain areas from January 1, 2025.

He appealed to CPM supporters to back the BJP, stating: “We need just 5 per cent more votes to topple Trinamool. CPM supporters should not waste their votes and indirectly help Trinamool. Under the BJP rule, they will be free to contest local polls without fear.”

The BJP’s Sandeshkhali leader and defeated Lok Sabha candidate Rekha Patra denied speculation about joining Trinamool, following the footsteps of her former “mentor” Sujoy Mondal.

“There is no such possibility. Mondal was never my mentor,” Patra claimed.

“Suvendu Adhikari always supported me,” she added.

In January 2024, ED officials were beaten up when they went to Shahjahan’s home for a raid in connection with an alleged PDS scam. Later, many local women claimed Shahjahan and his aides had captured vast swathes of land and harassed them sexually.

However, amid national outrage over Sandeshkhali’s sufferings fuelled by the saffron ecosystem during the campaign for the general election, Trinamool brought to the fore videos that claimed that a local BJP leader made several women in Sandeshkhali sign on blank papers that were filled out as complaints.