Internal rifts within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) spilled out into the streets of Bhangar on Sunday, as rival factions clashed just as the party begins its push for the 2026 Assembly elections. The trouble reportedly started in the Kashipur area of South 24 Parganas when a vehicle belonging to Hakimul Islam — son of the veteran leader Arabul Islam — was allegedly attacked.
The situation turned into a full-blown confrontation near a petrol pump owned by the Arabul family. CCTV footage now doing the rounds on social media shows groups of men engaged in heated arguments and finger-pointing, with threats being exchanged in plain view. Hakimul didn't mince words, blaming the supporters of Saokat Molla, the Canning East MLA who was recently tasked by the party to oversee Bhangar. "This was a deliberate hit on my vehicle and our business," Hakimul claimed.
On the other side, the Molla camp has dismissed the accusations as baseless. They counter-alleged that Hakimul and his associates were the ones looking for a fight, moving through the area with "pre-planned intent" to stir up trouble. Saokat Molla himself remained somewhat distanced, stating he wasn't aware of the full details but would report the unrest to the TMC top brass.
The timing is particularly awkward for the TMC leadership. Only days ago, Abhishek Banerjee had set a high-stakes goal for the party to sweep all 31 seats in South 24 Parganas, specifically calling for the "reclaiming" of Bhangar, which is currently held by ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui. Instead of a united front, the party is once again dealing with the long-standing blood feud between the Arabul and Molla loyalists.
The opposition was quick to pounce on the chaos. CPI(M)’s Sujan Chakraborty mocked the violence as a fight over "loot and power," while the BJP's Samik Bhattacharya pointed to a total collapse of law and order. Meanwhile, the TMC's official line is that these aren't "disciplined" members and suggested the whole thing might even be a conspiracy by the ISF to make the party look bad. For now, the police have filed an FIR and are scanning the camera footage, but the atmosphere in Bhangar remains incredibly tense.
Also read: TMC RS MP Mausam Noor returns to Congress
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