New Delhi: Hours after reports of post-poll violence emerged from West Bengal, the state unit of the BJP issued a statement saying that one cannot claim to be a party worker unless the BJP formally accepts them as such.
The chief spokesperson of the BJP, Debjit Sarkar, took to social media and posted: “Important announcement: you cannot declare yourself a BJP member on your own. Unless the party formally accepts you, you cannot claim to be a BJP member.”
Speaking to ThePrint, Sarkar said they had received reports that many workers of the TMC had “overnight” become BJP members and were indulging in vandalism. The TMC lost power in the Bengal assembly elections whose results were declared Monday.
“Those who till the 4th evening were TMC workers, by night had worn saffron clothes and were busy vandalising and terrorising the people in the name of BJP. They are not BJP workers. There is an accreditation process that has to be followed at the state level before anyone can officially join the BJP,” he said.
He further said no individual can become a member of the BJP through self-declaration. “Those associated with the TMC who have been involved in atrocities, unlawful activities, or intimidation cannot seek refuge in Bengal BJP to escape accountability,” he added.
The law, he said, will take its own course. “No criminal or anti-social element will be allowed to enter the party under any circumstance.”
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has directed the West Bengal authorities to arrest those involved in post-poll violence and vandalism in the state. The directive by the Election Commission came after four persons were reported killed in alleged incidents of post-poll violence in the state Tuesday. In addition to this, a number of party offices were also ransacked.
The Kolkata police have registered criminal cases under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, and the West Bengal Maintenance Of Public Order Act, 1972, and arrested 40 accused.
Addressing a press conference, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand said the administration will not allow any procession with JCBs in the city.
Directions were also issued by the EC to the police to conduct patrolling in sensitive areas.
Sarkar said that as the representative of the BJP, he took cognisance of the matter and also addressed it on social media so that people are aware of the facts.
PLEASE NOTE pic.twitter.com/eliyIxOMvp
— Debjit Sarkar (@Bjp_Debjit) May 6, 2026
“We know who party workers are and they will never indulge in violence. In any case, violence by anyone is not acceptable and we are making the people aware that if they find anyone indulging in violence or creating vandalism, they must immediately inform the police,” he added.
He further said there is a system to be followed to become a member of the BJP and for which the district president and state president have to be kept in the loop.
“A person cannot simply announce they are a member; they must enrol through the formal BJP membership process,” Sarkar asserted.
Many TMC leaders have also highlighted the post-poll violence.
“The lumpen violence and hooliganism happening in every corner of Bengal today, the communal slogans, the hate speech even before oath-taking should prepare Bengalis for the Parivartan ahead,” posted TMC MP Mahua Moitra on X.
TMC leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee posted a video of a TMC office in Jagatballavpur that had been set ablaze reportedly by “BJP miscreants – an alarming reflection of the situation the people of Bengal are now being forced to endure”.
The TMC party office in Jagatballavpur has reportedly been set ablaze by BJP miscreants—an alarming reflection of the situation the people of Bengal are now being forced to endure. pic.twitter.com/acRJsfMnHp
— Kalyan Banerjee (@KBanerjee_AITC) May 5, 2026
Speaking to ThePrint, Ritesh Tiwari, BJP MLA, said attempts to forcibly create political unrest will not be tolerated in any manner. “We are all trying from our end to make people aware that there is a system to be followed through which one becomes a BJP worker. At the same time, we have seen how TMC workers who give a bad name to the BJP are indulging in violence and this will not be tolerated. I know the workers who toiled hard with me and the images that are being shown reveal they are not from the BJP,” he added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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