West Bengal TMC Leader Claims IPS Officer's Visit Was a Threat After Alleging Personal Connection to Bollywood Film Characters

TMC Supporters Protest Against Election Commission-Appointed IPS Officer in West Bengal

A protest was held in South 24 Parganas district's Falta on Tuesday by Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters, who accused Election Commission-appointed IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma of "intimidating" party workers and leaders ahead of the second phase of polling in West Bengal.

The 2011-batch IPS officer, who has earned the moniker 'Singham' in Uttar Pradesh, faced protests from TMC supporters, who raised 'Jai Bangla' in front of the residence and the election office of local TMC candidate Jahangir Khan. Officials said Sharma visited the area after the Election Commission received reports that Khan's men were allegedly collecting voter identity cards from people in the constituency and threatening them.

Sharma said that he would not allow the candidate or his associates to intimidate the voters during his visit. As one of the 95 observers deployed by the Election Commission to ensure free and fair polling in the second phase, Sharma is tasked with maintaining a neutral stance.

Read also: Indian Space Industry Stocks Gain Momentum: Three Companies to Watch

However, TMC candidate Khan reacted to the development by alluding to the Telugu-language action film 'Pushpa' and the Bollywood cop movie 'Singham' to say he would not allow "BJP-appointed police officials to threaten voters". Khan stated that he would not be intimidated by the authorities and that such actions are not acceptable in a democratic system.

Eyewitnesses said that Sharma had visited the TMC candidate's house late on Monday night and said that the authorities would take "firm and immediate steps" if there were reports of voter intimidation. Falta falls under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat represented by Abhishek Banerjee.

Senior TMC leaders and ministers objected to the steps taken by Sharma, alleging that the IPS officer was overstepping his role. West Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya stated that the media has given Sharma the name 'encounter specialist' and questioned what authority he has to visit a house at night and issue a threat. Another minister, Aroop Biswas, said that observers are expected to remain neutral and that any attempt to act beyond constitutional limits or target a particular party will be challenged legally.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra shared a video on X showing a man dancing at a pub and tagged the officer in the post, saying, "Good to see you enjoying yourself… Hope your policing skills are better than your dancing skills."

Read also: Kumar Mangalam Birla to Address Concluding Function of RSS Training Camp

Note: The table above shows the number of observers deployed by the Election Commission for the second phase of polling in West Bengal.