Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday held a meeting with chief secretary Dushyant Nariala, home secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh and director-general of police Siddh Nath Gupta at Nabanna to send out a stern message that there would be no “Trinamoolikaran of the BJP”, against the backdrop of the post-poll violence that has claimed four lives.

Bhattacharya was at Nabanna to hold a special meeting to discuss the arrangements for Saturday’s swearing-in ceremony, and significantly, the post-poll violence.

“I have told the home secretary that there will be no Trinamoolikaran of the BJP. I have spoken to the DGP, the Kolkata Police commissioner and senior police officers to convey the party’s stand,” Bhattacharya told reporters at Nabanna after the meeting.

Following Bhattacharya’s instructions, top police officers, including the DGP and Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nand, held news conferences to announce that action would be taken if police officers were found to have been lacking in preventing such incidents.

A source said that by “Trinamoolikaran”, the state BJP chief was referring to the violence after the 2021 Assembly elections in which over 50 BJP workers were allegedly killed by Trinamool goons, several women raped and thousands of BJP workers displaced.

BJP leaders said they had received reports that this time, “disgruntled Trinamool factions” that had been sidelined by the leadership had now taken up the BJP flag to vandalise TMC offices across districts.

“Already two of our party workers have been martyred. We have won the election. Had we lost, at least 200 of our party workers would have been killed. Many Trinamool workers are applying saffron gulal, carrying BJP flags and ransacking Trinamool offices,” a BJP leader said.

After reports of post-poll violence started reaching the state BJP headquarters on Monday night, Bhattacharya took a stern stand against such crimes, warning that if any party leader or worker was found involved, he would be expelled.

Preventing post-poll violence had become a challenge for the BJP as the party does not want such allegations to be levelled against the newdispensation.

All top state BJP leaders have been asked to send instructions to the various WhatsApp groups of the party, informing members about the stand against violence. The leaders have also been instructed to inform the police and ensure the arrest of all those involved in thevandalism, irrespective of party colours.

“If the police do not take steps, the party has been asked to inform the state headquarters. The party will send the names of those police officers to the DGP or the chief secretary to ensure departmental action against them,” said a BJP source.

On Wednesday, a BJP leader in North 24-Parganas was seen telling party workers that there must not be any more violence in the area.

“I will be suspended if you do not stop the vandalism. No one should attack anybody and must report to me if this order is not followed,” the leader was heard saying over the phone in Calcutta.

In Nandigram on Wednesday, leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari also told party workers “not to repeat what Trinamool had done to BJP workers after the 2021 elections”.

On Wednesday evening, after meeting chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal to congratulate him for conducting a free and fair election, Adhikari told reporters that the BJP leadership was taking action to prevent any violence.

“You should remember what Mamata Banerjee had said after taking office in2021. She had said her government was not responsible for the violence on the four days (between the election results and the formation of the government). During that period, 57 party workerswere murdered. Over 12,000 FIRs had been lodged, butthey were all dumped,” Adhikari said.

“Our state president had gone to Nabanna and held a meeting. I have also publicly urged all BJP workers of Bengal not to follow what the TMC did. I spoke to the DGP last night, and he said that the number of complaints was minimal and not more than 50, which is nothing in comparison to the 12,000 complaints in 2021,” he added.

Adhikari said: “I will fulfil my duties towards both Nandigram and Bhabanipur. However, which seat I will have to leave will be decided on the instructions of the senior leadership of the party.”