Kolkata stampede: CM Adhikari urges opposition to halt politics over 19 deaths
Synopsis
A Durga Puja pandal stampede in North Kolkata has killed 19 people — and ignited an immediate political war. West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari is calling for unity while implicitly indicting the TMC's own disaster-riddled tenure; TMC's Abhishek Banerjee has already fired back on social media. The fight over accountability has barely begun.
Key Takeaways
A stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata killed 19 people on Saturday, 18 October 2026 .
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari appealed to opposition parties to refrain from politicising the tragedy.
Adhikari said he was first informed by the Kolkata Police Commissioner at 8:20 pm on Saturday .
TMC 's Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee posted a sharp attack on the state administration on social media.
Adhikari cited past disasters under the previous government — including the Posta Bridge collapse (2016) , Majerhat Bridge collapse (2018) , and a Panihati stampede (2022) — to counter the criticism.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday appealed to opposition parties to stop politicising the deadly stampede at a community Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata, which claimed 19 lives. Addressing the media, the Chief Minister called for collective action in what he described as a moment of mourning, while also mounting a pointed counter-offensive against critics from the previous administration.
What the Chief Minister Said
'I do not want to do politics over this issue. I am also requesting the opposition parties to refrain from doing so. I first received information about this tragedy from the Kolkata Police Commissioner at 8:20 pm on Saturday. I want to work together with all in this atmosphere of mourning,' Adhikari told reporters.
He also described an emotional meeting with the families of the deceased. 'I had tears in my eyes when these families held my hand. I also apologised. They also cried and said they have trust in this government,' the Chief Minister said.
Adhikari's Counter: A Litany of Past Disasters
Without naming any specific party, Adhikari took an implicit but pointed swipe at the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governed West Bengal before him. He cited a series of deadly incidents under the previous administration to argue that political criticism was hypocritical.
He referenced the collapse of the Posta Bridge section of the Vivekananda Road flyover in North Kolkata on 31 March 2016, which killed seven people and injured over 80; the partial collapse of the Majerhat Bridge in South Kolkata on 4 September 2018; and a stampede at a fair in Panihati, North 24 Parganas district, in July 2022.
'During the monsoon before Durga Puja last year, as many as 13 persons died after getting electrocuted while coming in contact with submerged electricity wires in Kolkata. What was the former Chief Minister doing then? Last year, so many people died in a flash flood in North Bengal in October. Then the state administration was busy with a carnival in Kolkata,' Adhikari said.
TMC's Abhishek Banerjee Hits Back
The political flashpoint was ignited on Saturday night when Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress's Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member, posted a sharp rebuke on social media. 'FIRST IN MY BLOODLINE! Shame on @KolkataPolice, @WBPolice and @SuvendyWB. May Maa Durga grant strength and solace to the grieving families and bless all those injured with a swift and complete recovery,' Banerjee's post read.
The post drew immediate attention, framing the tragedy as a failure of the incumbent administration. Adhikari's Sunday appeal was widely seen as a direct response to that messaging.
The Broader Context
The stampede occurred at a community Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata on Saturday, during one of the most heavily attended periods of the festival. Durga Puja pandals routinely draw enormous crowds across West Bengal, creating persistent crowd-management challenges for both police and civic authorities. This incident follows a pattern of crowd disasters at large public gatherings in the state, raising fresh questions about safety protocols at festival venues. Authorities have not yet disclosed the precise sequence of events that triggered the crush.
With the political temperature rising and families still in mourning, the coming days will test whether the state administration can manage both the humanitarian response and the accountability demands that inevitably follow a mass-casualty event of this scale.
Point of View
He transforms a humanitarian address into a counter-attack. The real accountability deficit goes unaddressed: neither side has yet explained how a community pandal became a death trap for 19 people during one of the world's largest religious gatherings. West Bengal has a documented history of crowd disasters at public events, and the pattern of post-incident political recrimination — rather than structural crowd-safety reform — is itself part of the problem. Until there is an independent inquiry with enforceable findings, both sides are competing in optics rather than governance.
NationPress
18 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the North Kolkata Durga Puja stampede?
A stampede occurred at a community Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata on Saturday, 18 October 2026, killing 19 people. The precise trigger of the crush has not yet been officially disclosed by authorities.
What did West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari say about the stampede?
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari appealed to opposition parties to stop politicising the tragedy and called for collective action. He also said he received first information from the Kolkata Police Commissioner at 8:20 pm on Saturday, and that the families of the deceased had expressed trust in his government.
What did TMC's Abhishek Banerjee post about the stampede?
TMC Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee posted a sharp rebuke on social media on Saturday night, writing 'FIRST IN MY BLOODLINE! Shame on @KolkataPolice, @WBPolice and @SuvendyWB,' and calling for prayers for the victims' families. The post directly blamed the current state administration.
Which past disasters did CM Adhikari reference in his counter?
Adhikari cited the Posta Bridge collapse on 31 March 2016 (seven killed, 80+ injured), the Majerhat Bridge collapse on 4 September 2018, and a stampede at a fair in Panihati in July 2022 — all occurring under the previous TMC-led administration. He also referenced 13 electrocution deaths during a pre-Puja monsoon season the year before.
Why do Durga Puja pandals pose crowd-safety risks?
Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal, especially in Kolkata, draw millions of visitors during the festival days, creating extreme crowd density at entry and exit points. Crowd-management and emergency-response planning at community pandals has historically been inconsistent, and this incident is not the first such tragedy at a large public gathering in the state.
