Every night for the past two months, 52-year-old Sadhan Maity leaves his thatched hut in Natunpara to spend the night hiding in the fields. This has become a ritual in the wake of escalating violence and unrest in Sandeshkhali, a village in the Sunderbans delta, 80km southeast of Kolkata. The aim is to avoid violent attacks on his home, which are more likely to happen at night when security is low. While Maity’s wife locks the door and waits for dawn, he seeks refuge in the darkness.
Sandeshkhali became a hotspot for violence after officers from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a raid on January 5, targeting the home of Sheikh Shahjahan, a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam. The operation resulted in chaos when an enraged mob attacked the officers, injuring several and setting their vehicles ablaze. Shahjahan went into hiding and was arrested after 55 days. The incident triggered widespread protests and acts of violence, leading to the arrest of local TMC leaders accused of land grabs and sexual harassment.
Despite the arrests of Shahjahan and his associates, fear continues to grip the village. Many residents, including Maity, worry that those lower down the TMC ladder still roam freely, posing a threat to those who protested against them. Maity’s nightly departures are part of a strategy to avoid being targeted or arrested, as cases have been filed against villagers for their involvement in the unrest.
With Lok Sabha elections approaching, the shadow of violence casts a long shadow over Sandeshkhali. In West Bengal, elections have often been marred by violence as political parties battle for control over local “party societies,” which govern the distribution of wealth and social welfare. Although the TMC has held power since 2011, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been gaining ground, particularly since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where it secured 18 of the 42 seats in West Bengal.
The BJP has intensified its efforts to paint the TMC as a violent and oppressive force, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to the “Sandeshkhali storm” in a recent rally. The BJP’s candidate for Sandeshkhali, 31-year-old Rekha Patra, is a local woman with no political background, chosen for her connection to the victims of TMC’s alleged violence and harassment.
Meanwhile, the TMC is attempting to manage the fallout from the unrest. They replaced actor Nusrat Jahan with Haji Nurul Islam as the candidate for Basirhat in response to the growing dissatisfaction among the electorate. Despite these efforts, the sense of impending violence and uncertainty remains in Sandeshkhali. For residents like Maity, spending nights in the fields is the only way to stay safe.
