Debra BJP MLA hurt in attack he blames on party workers in extortion row

A BJP MLA in Paschim Medinipur was admitted to hospital with head injuries on Monday evening after he was attacked in Debra, in what he said was a clash with members of his own party over extortion. Deccan Chronicle described it as the first time a BJP elected representative had been beaten up by his own party's workers since the party came to power in the state six months ago.

Subhasis Om, who represents the Debra Assembly seat, was taken to Debra Super Speciality Hospital with a bandaged head, and several BJP workers who were hurt in the clash were also admitted, Deccan Chronicle and Asianet News Bangla reported. ETV Bharat reported that he was later moved to Medinipur Super Speciality Hospital when his condition worsened; that could not be confirmed from other reports. No police complaint or arrest had been reported by early Tuesday.

What happened

According to ETV Bharat, Om had gone to a government office on Monday to check on development work, heard several complaints, and then went to Debra police station, where groups of party workers had gone to lodge complaints against each other. He was surrounded and beaten outside the police station, the channel reported. Asianet News Bangla said he was hit while trying to calm a dispute among party workers over extortion. Police, led by the Debra subdivisional police officer and the officer in charge of the police station, reached the spot and broke up the clash.

"It took place because of my protest against extortion," Om told Deccan Chronicle. Speaking to ETV Bharat, he said: "We are workers of the same flag... Our fight is mainly against extortion." He said he did not like party workers repeatedly filing cases against one another.

What the party says

Om's supporters blamed followers of the BJP's Ghatal organisational district president. The district president, who visited Om in hospital, denied that his supporters were involved and said he did not know about the incident, ETV Bharat reported. He told Asianet News Bangla that it was not yet clear what had happened. Deccan Chronicle reported that he said the matter could have been settled within the party. A leader of the party's youth wing in Ghatal told ETV Bharat that the district president's supporters had carried out the attack and had also tried to assault him at the hospital.

The reports did not carry any response from the state BJP leadership or from the Trinamool Congress, now in opposition in the state.

Background

The BJP won the 2026 Assembly election in West Bengal and formed its first government in the state under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Since then the party has faced reports of factional clashes in its own ranks, including a fight between rival groups in Titagarh, in North 24 Parganas, last month in which a party worker was critically injured.

What happens next

It is not yet clear whether the MLA or the police will register a case, or whether the BJP will take organisational action against those involved. Om's condition will also be watched after the conflicting reports about his transfer to Medinipur.