A co-operative bank election in East Midnapore’s Contai on Saturday took a violent turn as the day progressed, offering a glimpse of what is in store for Bengal when the Assembly polls are held in the summer of 2026.

A Trinamool lawmaker and former state minister accused the state police of aiding the BJP and stopping Trinamool supporters from casting their votes in the 65 of the 78 seats in the Contai co-operative Agriculture Rural Development Bank, the home turf of the leader of Opposition in the Bengal legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari.

Before he switched to the BJP from the Trinamool, Suvendu, once a trusted aide of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, held the post of the chairman of the bank. Since his departure to the saffron party, Suvendu and Mamata have been involved in a turf battle in the district, with Akhil Giri, an uncle of Suvendu, acting as the proxy of the chief minister.

While he was in the Trinamool, Suvendu along with his father, the former Contai MP and veteran Sisir Adhikari, wrested control over not only Contai, but the entire East Midnapore district.

The Adhikari family had played a formidable role in Mamata’s anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram during the Left Front’s rule in 2007.

After Suvendu’s exit, Mamata relied on Giri, who had for most of his political life lived under the shadow of the Adhikaris, to keep East Midnapore under Trinamool’s control, bypassing the Adhikari family.

“This police officer is the root of trouble,” Trinamool legislator from Ramnagar and former correctional homes minister Akhil Giri was caught on camera targeting the on-duty cops outside Ramnagar College where polling was on.

On reaching the polling station, Giri had alleged that a Trinamool supporter was disallowed from casting his vote since he was carrying a photo-copy of an identity card.

“Banks issued cards to the voters. Many voters went with their Aadhaar cards and were allowed. The cops were not allowing many genuine voters. When I heard about it I went to register my protest. The cops assaulted me,” said Giri.

On television cameras, Giri was seen jostling with the police. The MLA was taken to the Ramnagar block primary healthcare centre and later referred to the Tamralipta medical college and hospital.

In Contai, a BJP leader accused Giri’s son and the chairperson of the bank, Suprakash, of threatening him.

Two days ago, a division bench of the Calcutta high court comprising Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) had turned down a PIL demanding the bank polls be held under the watch of central paramilitary forces.

“We know their source of power: Mamata and Nabanna. The countdown has begun. Their days are numbered,” leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said in Kolkata, reacting to the incident.