Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to convene a meeting with civic bosses and seniors in the state administration on Thursday amid a mega anti-encroachment drive in major urban centres, bamboozling many in Bengal’s corridors of power.

Multiple senior state government officials and Trinamool leaders admitted that Thursday's meeting appeared confusing, if not needless, following the chief minister’s unequivocal orders for the crackdown to free government land.

A Trinamool leader said there could be some degree of backtracking following "negativity" around the drive. “She has to strike a deft balance, it’s not easy,” he said.

A senior bureaucrat said they were clueless about the meeting's agenda.

“Right now, the administration is carrying out the chief minister’s instructions to remove illegal encroachment on government land…. On Wednesday, several illegal encroachments were removed in Calcutta, New Town and Bidhannagar. The action would continue until any further instruction is issued. I don’t know what the chief minister will say tomorrow,” he said.

On Monday, Mamata had publicly admonished civic body chiefs and administrative officials over encroachment on government land. She had said elected representatives and police were making money by allowing such illegal activities and directed the authorities to take action.

Several Trinamool leaders said Mamata might now ask the authorities to go slow on the eviction drive as it was not sending the right signals ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

“The policy of the Trinamool Congress has been very clear from the beginning…. Our party is against forcible eviction, be it from public or private property. What the authorities have been doing is evicting people indiscriminately from city streets, which is affecting the livelihood of the poor people,” a Trinamool MLA said.

On Monday, Mamata had told civic bodies and bureaucrats that she would not tolerate such irregularities and strict action would be initiated against those responsible. She had said that encroachment on government land and illegal construction had become a major problem in Howrah, Bidhannagar and New Town-Rajarhat.

“It is clear that the chief minister does not want to let the issue pass as it is affecting the electoral prospects of the ruling party in the urban areas. Because of the encroachment, roads are getting narrower, areas are getting congested and civic amenities are getting affected,” said a source aware of the development.

Mamata made it clear that she would address the issue ahead of the Assembly polls so that it did not affect her party’s prospects.

Sources said the chief minister knew that if she took the initiative to stop corruption in the civic bodies, the Opposition would not be able to leverage the issue in the urban areas.

Trinamool sources said the Mamata government had in 2015 cleared a proposal to give long-term settlement rights to those who encroached upon government land for five years.

“This had helped us to secure the support of downtrodden people living in the colonies and shanties set up on government land. Moreover, we secured support from the street vendors due to the policy. These people were earlier die-hard CPM supporters. Now, if they are evicted overnight, it would definitely hurt the party ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls,” said a Trinamool MP.

The ruling party sources said Mamata might lay down a clear policy on eviction from government land at Thursday’s meeting.

“She might make it clear that if anybody is evicted, they should be given a proper alternative. The NKDA (New Town Kolkata Development Authority) has already set up four markets to relocate street vendors who were occupying government land illegally. The chief minister might ask the authorities to prepare a rehabilitation plan before carrying out the eviction drive indiscriminately,” said a Trinamool leader.

The BJP tried to capitalise on the opportunity.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari criticised the crackdown, raising questions on whether the move was discriminatory on the basis of religion.

“I want to ask the chief minister whether the move to recover encroached government land was launched from Darjeeling to Digha and Cooch Behar to Kakdwip, or if it is in selected areas like Bidhannagar, Hatibagan and Gariahat,” he asked.

“Today, you launched a drive with bulldozers in areas like Bidhannagar and Behala. We want to know when your police and authorities will take the same action in areas like…,” he added, with inflammatory, divisive implications aimed at polarisation. “Why is there a difference in justice in different areas?”

However, this newspaper found no indication of any such communal discrimination in the conduct of the exercise.

Adhikari also vowed support for those being evicted and “stand in front of bulldozers”, asserting that the BJP would be seen by their side starting Thursday. He demanded that the state government should outline a specific SOP and serve notices with ample time before such a crackdown.

The CPM’s trade union wing, Citu, also voiced its opposition to the “forcible eviction drive”.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the state unit of Citu demanded implementation of the 2014 Central Hawkers’ Act and alternative livelihood options for street vendors before taking forward the eviction drive.

Criticising the chief minister for turning a blind eye to corruption perpetrated by Trinamool leaders, Citu denounced the “inhuman eviction of hawkers” and asked the state government to hold talks with the hawkers’ unions immediately.