Kunal Ghosh attacked in Bengal; Mamata alleges attempts to disrupt her party’s public meetings

Beleghata MLA and Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (Mamata TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh was on Saturday (September 26, 2026) attacked when he was visiting Serampore in West Bengal’s Hooghly to participate in a public meeting addressed by former Chief Minister Mamat

Mr. Ghosh’s vehicle was blocked by a mob at Sakherbazar in Uttarpara, eggs and stones were thrown, and it was attacked with sticks. Slogans were raised against Mr. Ghosh.

He had suffered injuries in the attack and he could not participate in the public meeting called by his party chairperson, Mr. Ghosh said, adding that the attack had forced him to return to Kolkata. Mr. Ghosh visited Bhabani Bhawan, the West Bengal Police Headquarters here, where he tried to meet senior police officers over the attack.

“We had fought in the court for over 15 days just to get permission for the rally. The whole road (to Serampore) has been blocked and there is no sign of the police,” Ms. Banerjee said. It was extremely unfair as party workers faced attacks despite despite seeking permission, she said.

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“Why should we have to approach the court every single time simply to hold a political meeting? The courts already have an enormous number of cases and responsibilities,” Ms. Banerjee said.

Attempts had been made to disrupt the public gathering, the former West Bengal CM said. “If you (the BJP) have genuinely won in the elections, then why are you not allowing Opposition parties to hold rallies?” Ms. Banerjee said. She had been placed under house arrest after the Assembly election and was not allowed to venture out, she alleged.

Mr. Ghosh’s car had been brutally vandalised, the Mamata TMC’s official handle posted on social media platform X, and party workers on the way to Serampore “attacked mercilessly and repeatedly” while “the police simply watched”. The party decried the “death of democracy” in Bengal.

While Ms. Banerjee has addressed public meetings in Kolkata after her party’s Assembly poll debacle, the Sreerampore rally is first occasion on which Ms. Banerjee would be speaking to her supporters in the districts. The Calcutta High Court had on September 17 granted permission to organise the rally, while capping the number of participants to 1,000.