Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate’s raids at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office in Kolkata have triggered a sharp political escalation in West Bengal, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launching a direct attack on the Centre and the BJP. The development comes at a time when the state is slowly moving into campaign mode ahead of the high-stakes 2026 Assembly elections.
Reacting strongly to the searches, Banerjee accused the Centre of misusing central agencies for political purposes. “I am sorry Mr Prime Minister, please control your Home Minister… If you cannot fight with us politically, why are you coming to Bengal? Defeat us in a democratic way,” she said. Alleging that agencies were being used to “loot papers, strategy, voter data and Bengal itself”, the Chief Minister warned that such actions would only erode the BJP’s electoral prospects in the state.
The Trinamool Congress has framed the raids as part of a broader pattern of “institutional intimidation”, a narrative it has repeatedly deployed whenever central agencies act against individuals or organisations perceived to be close to the ruling party in the state. The BJP, on its part, has maintained that investigative agencies are acting independently and in accordance with the law, rejecting accusations of political vendetta.
Politically, the episode underscores the increasingly confrontational nature of Centre–state relations in West Bengal. With Mamata Banerjee positioning herself as one of the most vocal national opponents of the BJP, any action by central agencies is quickly absorbed into a larger narrative of federal overreach and democratic resistance.
Interestingly, some political observers and astrologers have also sought to interpret the timing of the controversy through an astrological lens, noting that multiple planetary transits are currently activating sensitive points in Banerjee’s natal chart. According to such interpretations, the present phase is described as one where secrecy becomes difficult to maintain and disclosures are more likely—though these views remain speculative and outside the realm of political analysis.
What is clear, however, is that Bengal’s political atmosphere is heating up well ahead of the formal election season. The ED raids and the Chief Minister’s sharp counterattack signal that the 2026 Assembly elections are likely to be fiercely contested, with governance, federalism, and the use of central agencies emerging as central themes in the months to come.
-OdishaAge
