West Bengal Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh on Thursday, 2 October 2026, took a pointed swipe at Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Anubrata Mondal, saying the ‘tiger of Birbhum has now turned into a cat’ — a remark that came a day after Mondal’s party office in Suri, Birbhum district, was ransacked in his presence. The incident marks one of the most visible symbols of the political reversal in Bengal following the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s victory in the recent state Assembly elections.

The Vandalisation Incident

On Wednesday night, Mondal — who has long wielded significant political influence in Birbhum — visited the Trinamool Congress office near the Suri Old Bus Stand for the first time since the Assembly election results were declared earlier this year. The visit was intended to assess the situation and engage with local party leadership.

While Mondal was seated inside, three youths entered the premises and attacked the office with thick wooden sticks, ransacking it and verbally threatening him over what they described as his ‘past atrocities.’ The youths claimed they were not affiliated with any political party. However, they were heard shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans as the police escorted them away. Mondal sustained minor facial injuries but no serious harm, according to reports. Police swiftly arrested the three individuals, who were subsequently released on Thursday morning after Mondal chose not to file a formal complaint.

What Dilip Ghosh Said

Speaking to reporters, Ghosh framed the incident within the broader arc of political change in the state. ‘Politics is like this. Some people are sometimes up and some are sometimes down. If someone gets power, they have to use it properly. Power was misused during the Trinamool Congress era. People have suffered. They will get the results for their misdeeds,’ he said.

On the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan shouted by the accused, Ghosh distanced the BJP from any direct involvement: ‘Jai Shri Ram is not the slogan of the BJP. Every person in India can say ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The administration can say who did it.’ He also added that ‘no revenge can be taken with the help of violence.’

He went further, recalling his own political marginalisation in the district under the previous TMC regime: ‘I could not hold any meeting in Birbhum for 10 years. The police did not give permission. Once they gave permission by mistake. That time, water was pumped from another place and poured into the meeting ground. We received the most votes in Birbhum. People will not forget everything overnight. But we have to maintain peace and develop Bengal.’

Anubrata Mondal’s Political Decline

The incident is a stark illustration of how fortunes can shift in Bengal’s volatile political landscape. Anubrata Mondal, popularly known by his nickname ‘Kesto’, was once considered the undisputed boss of Birbhum, commanding grassroots TMC networks with an iron grip. His clout, however, has eroded considerably — partly due to his prolonged legal troubles in a cattle-smuggling case, during which he spent time in judicial custody, and now compounded by his party’s loss of power in the state.

Notably, Wednesday’s visit to the Suri office was his first such appearance since the election results, underscoring how dramatically the political ground has shifted beneath him.

Wider Implications for Bengal’s Political Climate

The vandalisation of a former ruling party’s office — with its leader present — points to the fragility of law and order during political transitions in Bengal, a state with a long history of post-poll violence. While the BJP’s Ghosh condemned violence in principle, critics may note the optics of a ruling-party minister publicly mocking an opposition figure hours after the attack, rather than unequivocally demanding accountability. The prompt release of the accused, given the absence of a complaint from Mondal, raises questions about how political calculations continue to shape policing decisions in the state.

With the BJP now in power, all eyes will be on whether the new dispensation can break Bengal’s cycle of political retribution or whether the patterns of the past simply change hands.