Tensions flared in Hooghly district on Saturday, 26th September, when the vehicle of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) spokesperson and MLA Kunal Ghosh was ambushed in Uttarpara. Ghosh was en route to Serampore to take part in a high-profile public meeting organized for his party chief and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

During the journey, a crowd gathered around the legislator's car, launching eggs and stones directly at the vehicle while chanting hostile slogans. Amidst the chaos, demonstrators loudly shouted “Kunal Ghosh go back”. Following the confrontation, Ghosh deemed it unsafe to continue forward, turned his vehicle around, and retreated to Kolkata.

Recounting the episode, Ghosh asserted that his convoy had been singled out and struck on the road leading directly to the venue, directly blaming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadre for the aggression. However, observers and video recordings from the scene revealed that the individuals in the crowd were not holding or waving any BJP flags. The saffron party moved swiftly to dismiss his statements as baseless.

Ghosh described a coordinated maneuver, charging that an aggressive assembly armed with sticks and iron rods initially encircled his car and shouted slogans, while an accompanying contingent moved to obstruct the road ahead. According to his account, eggs and construction bricks rained down on the vehicle, shattering both the front and rear windshields.

“BJP goons attacked my car while I was on my way to attend Banerjee’s rally. A mob, armed with lathis, rods, shoes and carrying black posters, was shouting slogans. A second mob blocked the road. They hurled eggs and bricks and broke both the windshields. Glass shards fell all over me. I couldn’t go any further,” claimed Ghosh.

The legislator raised questions regarding security arrangements, pointing out the absence of law enforcement personnel along the route during the ambush.

“Not a single policeman was there. They want us to believe that there was no intelligence input. I will return to Kolkata and go straight to Bhabani Bhavan (state police headquarters) so that the police top brass can see what has happened. I am lucky that the driver wasn’t injured, else we would have got stranded there,” he alleged.

Saffron Camp Refutes Lawmaker's Allegations

Rejecting the narrative put forward by Ghosh, BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar stated that the party possessed details pointing to a factional rift within the TMC itself. Sarkar noted that followers loyal to Mamata-led TMC faction MP Kalyan Banerjee had vocally opposed Ghosh setting foot in the Hooghly constituency, suggesting that this internal animosity triggered the roadside assault rather than any intervention by the BJP.

“We have received some inputs from unconfirmed sources that supporters of TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee have said that they will not allow Ghosh to enter the area, and that’s why they attacked his car. Ghosh can’t say this in public as it would be a huge embarrassment for the party. That’s why he is dragging the BJP,” Sarkar conveyed.

While rebuffing the accusations, Sarkar condemned the physical violence and the destruction of the MLA's vehicle, demanding formal accountability if the claims pointing toward Kalyan Banerjee’s followers are verified by an inquiry.

The Serampore Gathering

The incident occurred just hours before Mamata Banerjee was scheduled to address a gathering at the Serampore Court Ground. The legal path to the event had been settled through the judiciary, as the Calcutta High Court permitted the rally to proceed on September 26 under the condition that attendance remain capped at a maximum of 1,000 participants.

'Barred From Meeting': Mamata Banerjee Alleges Leadership Placed Under Detention

As confrontations mounted throughout the district, former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on Saturday that she was actively being obstructed from traveling to the rally site at Serampore. She contended that key functionaries belonging to her faction of the Trinamool Congress had been placed under house arrest to dismantle attendance at the authorized gathering.

“We have been kept under house arrest. I am not allowed to go to the venue of the rally. But I will go and address the rally. Stop me if you can,”Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted Banerjee as saying.

Banerjee maintained that street-level access to the Serampore Court Ground had been blocked by hostile elements, charging that “BJP goons” had taken control of the corridor while law enforcement looked the other way. Despite these blockades, the former chief minister insisted the gathering would happen as scheduled under judicial sanction.

“The rally is being held with the permission of the court. It is the duty of the police and the administration to ensure its smooth functioning. But the police have turned a blind eye,” she added.

Banerjee directed sharp criticism toward the ruling state administration, accusing the BJP of “unleashing terror” across public thoroughfares.

“Such atrocities are seen in African countries. Such atrocities are not even happening in UP and Bihar, which are also BJP-ruled. Then why has the ruling BJP unleashed so much terror on the streets?” she asked.

Her statements came on the heels of reports from her party faction detailing how party workers and leaders faced physical intimidation while attempting to reach Serampore. Party sources reiterated that a contingent brandishing black flags intercepted MLA Kunal Ghosh’s vehicle in Uttarpara, pelting the car with eggs, stones, and shoes to halt his passage.

The region has remained politically volatile since the Trinamool Congress was voted out of power in the April assembly elections. That electoral outcome concluded the party's 15-year tenure in West Bengal and ushered in the state's first BJP-led government. Since the transition, leaders aligned with Banerjee's faction have reported repeated physical assaults, routinely identifying BJP cadres as the perpetrators—charges that the ruling saffron party continues to dismiss as deflections from internal party fractures.