CPM supporter Jyotindranath Das, a retired police personnel and a resident of Debinagar in Raiganj, has taken up the initiative to reduce visual pollution in his town while showing respect for his preferred party’s flags.

Since Saturday morning, Das has been moving through different roads in Debinagar, removing the flags, festoons and banners primarily of the CPM put up during the election campaign. His initiative has been welcomed by other political parties, who have also expressed willingness to follow suit.

Raiganj was part of the 152 Assembly constituencies that voted on April 23. During the campaign, all political parties decorated the 27 wards of Raiganj town with their flags, banners and festoons, often competing intensely to dominate public spaces.

However, even two days after the polls, these materials remained in place, with no visible effort from any party to remove them. Local residents, too, hesitated to take party materials down, fearing backlash from party workers.

But around 8am on Saturday, a man in his 60s was seen near Debinagar Kalibari, carefully removing the CPM flags and banners from trees, electric poles and in front of houses.

He folded them neatly and kept them in a designated spot. After collecting several such items, he tied them into bundles and left them in front of a shop before proceeding to another street to continue the same work.

Initially surprised, some residents asked him what he was doing. Das said he was a CPM supporter and had retired from the police force two years ago. During his service, he could not actively participate in politics, though his wife is an active party worker.

“After retirement, I became involved in party activities. Before every election, all parties decorate areas with flags and festoons. But after the polls, these are left behind and gradually become damaged, scattered across roadsides and drains,” he said.

“I don’t like that. I believe every party worker respects their party’s symbols, but that respect seems to disappear after the election. Moreover, these materials are no longer needed and instead contribute to visual pollution. That is why I decided to remove my party’s flags. I will send them to the local party office so they can be reused in future events. I appeal to other parties to do the same,” he added.

Other parties have welcomed the initiative.

Kaushik Chowdhury, the BJP candidate contesting from the Raiganj Assembly seat, praised Das's initiative.

“Despite ideological differences between us, I commend his effort. His respect for party symbols is worth emulating. I will also instruct our party workers to follow this example and remove our flags and festoons,” he said.

Trinamool’s district vice-president Arindam Sarkar also welcomed Das's move. “We appreciate his initiative. We will also carry out similar work, although after the victory procession following the announcement of results on May 4,” Sarkar said.

In Siliguri, Alok Dhara, the Congress candidate, took the initiative to remove such poll materials put up by his party in the city. The move comes a day after mayor and Trinamool candidate Gautam Deb appealed to all parties to remove poll paraphernalia and keep the city clean.