Overview
- Residents in Sitai forced Coochbehar MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia and Sitai MLA Sangita Roy Basunia to leave their home late Monday night and move under police escort after their return to the area.
- The hostile reception followed both politicians switching away from the Trinamool Congress to a rebel/NCPI alignment, a change locals described as a betrayal of the party symbol they won on.
- The couple had recently sought contact with national leaders, including attending a Prime Ministerial meeting, as several defecting MPs tried to manage fallout from their realignments.
- Similar actions have spread across the state, with a party office in Garfa locked by Mamata loyalists and Keshpur MLA Seuli Saha facing 'go back' chants and a disrupted event.
- Police protection and temporary relocations are being used to contain the unrest, and there is no clear strategy yet from defectors to rebuild local trust or stop further grassroots reprisals.