Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday, 18 July threatened to demolish every Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in West Bengal once the Trinamool Congress (TMC) returns to power in 2031, hours after his own party office in Amtala, South 24 Parganas was razed earlier the same day. The warning, delivered directly to the media, marks a sharp escalation in the already-fraught political rivalry between TMC and BJP in the state.

The Amtala Demolition That Triggered the Warning

The TMC office at Amtala in South 24 Parganas district was demolished on Saturday, setting off an immediate political storm. Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said the party had already emailed the OSD of the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, attaching video footage of the demolition as evidence.

'We will file a case in the matter at the Calcutta High Court at the earliest. If necessary, we will approach the Supreme Court,' Abhishek said, signalling a two-track response — legal challenge now, political retribution later.

Abhishek's Retaliatory Pledge

'Once Trinamool Congress comes back to power in West Bengal in 2031, all the party offices of the BJP will be demolished in the same manner and under the same section using which our Amtala office had been demolished today,' Abhishek told reporters. The statement drew immediate attention for its explicit tit-for-tat framing, with the TMC leader invoking the same legal provision reportedly used to bring down the Amtala office.

This comes amid a period of heightened political tension in West Bengal following the recently concluded state Assembly elections, in which TMC suffered a setback.

Challenge to Rebel Leaders and Defectors

Abhishek also issued a pointed challenge to rebel TMC leaders — including legislators and Lok Sabha members who have either formed a separate breakaway group or joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

'After breaking off, they have held me responsible. They claimed that I am responsible for the defeat of the Trinamool Congress in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls. If the discredit of the defeat this time goes to me, then the credit for Trinamool Congress's consecutive victories in the past is also on me,' he said. He went further, offering a direct resignation challenge: 'I challenge that if any of them comes back, I will immediately tender my resignation within an hour. But I know that none of them will come back.'

Abhishek alleged a quid pro quo arrangement driving the defections: 'The deal is clear. Break away from the party and abuse me, and in return, the police and central agencies will not touch you,' he said, accusing the rebels of receiving protection from law enforcement in exchange for their departure from TMC.

Political Context and What Comes Next

The demolition of the Amtala office and Abhishek's subsequent remarks reflect the deepening fault lines within West Bengal's political landscape following TMC's Assembly poll reversal. The emergence of rebel factions and the NCPI has added an intra-party dimension to what was already a fierce TMC-BJP contest.

TMC's legal challenge at the Calcutta High Court is expected to be filed imminently, with the party reserving the option to escalate to the Supreme Court. How the judiciary responds to the demolition dispute could shape the political temperature in the state in the months ahead.