A 12-hour state-wide bandh from 6 am to 6 pm was called on Friday by the Left Front leader (chairman) Biman Bose in West Bengal, protesting against the police action on several Left and Congress activists on Thursday. Many Left and Congress activists were injured during the clash with the police, on Thursday, when they were marching towards the state secretariat at Nabanna in Kolkata, with certain demands, including that of jobs. The march had started in College Street but was stopped by police on SN Banerjee Road in the Esplanade area. The Left and Congress leaders and their associates stated that the use of force by police was both brutal and unprecedented.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

When the police tried to stop the march in Central Kolkata, clashes broke out, and the agitating party workers tried to break the barricades. The police resorted to firing tear gas shells, using water cannons to disperse the activists, while the activists responded with stones and sticks.

After the crackdown, the police had rescued the injured and rushed them to hospital. CPM leader Md Salim claimed that 500 protesters were injured. The police said that about 20 were injured. According to Md Salim (CPM), the Congress and the Indian Secular Front, recently founded by Pirzada Abbas Siddique of Furfura Sharif, are backing the 12-hour bandh.

As Left workers blocked roads at severe places in the state, traffic disruptions were reported. The Left party workers during the bandh have blocked the train track at Kanchrapara railway station.

Workers from Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have blocked Ghosh Para Road in Shyamnagar. Life across the state has been hit partially.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

Chief Minister & TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee has cancelled all leaves following the announcement of the bandh.  In a bid to resist the bandh, the state government has made attendance in government offices mandatory.

The bandh has been called after discussions with the Left Front constituents and the Congress, which have stitched an alliance for the upcoming assembly election.