The incident would have been treated as just another murder, but for Raina’s political tradition. The killing in a Left fortress highlights the change in political alignment that is sweeping large parts of Bengal. It reveals how the Trinamool Congress is denting the rural base of the red brigade.

After a complaint was lodged in the case, police went to Raina to pick up the accused named by the local CPI(M) leaders. But they faced stiff resistance from the villagers, who dug up roads and put up blockades. For two days, the locals prevented the police from entering the village. An investigation was allowed only when the administration promised that no police action would be taken.

The CPI(M) Politburo, in a rare move, responded strongly to the incident. Issuing a formal statement on the clash in Burdwan, the party said: “These targeted assassinations of CPI(M) cadres are a part of a nefarious design by the Trinamool Congress and Maoist collaborators.”

But Trinamool leaders have denied the charge. “Why is the CPM shouting about the murder? We have no link with the Maoists. Besides, the murders are taking place where we have no presence,” said Trinamool legislator Sovandeb Chatterjee.

“Look at the Burdwan incident. A group of CPI(M) supporters has joined our party and they are fighting each other. The death was a result of that clash,” claimed Chatterjee, who is in charge of the party’s affairs in Burdwan district.

Raina is not an isolated case. A similar pattern is discernable across the state, with CPI(M) workers at the receiving end in most places. The party had raised the issue before Chief Election Commissioner, N Gopalaswami, during the latter’s recent visit to Kolkata.

Significantly, police have failed to respond adequately to the violence. Political circles in Kolkata allege a total breakdown of the official government machinery and the rule of law. Senior police officials claimed that in many cases they found that musclemen and anti-social elements, who had been sheltered by the ruling party so far, were changing sides.

“When musclemen and criminals switch allegiance from a party, it indicates trouble for that outfit,” said a superintendent of police. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress tie-up has definitely created an atmosphere of expectation, leading to desertions from the ruling front, he added.

Another killing in Titagarh, on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, is also a case in point and an example of how infighting has affected the CPI(M) after the poll dates were announced. A CPI(M) supporter, Bijoy Shau, was murdered and several others injured. Party sources said the violence was due to rivalry between two groups of local miscreants, patronised by party leaders.

The CPI(M) leadership has claimed that at least 15 of their cadres have been killed since February in several districts, mostly in rural belts. The affected districts are Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, West Midnapore, South Dinajpur and Bankura.

Binoy Konar, the party’s central committee member, admitted that the CPI(M) was apprehending a violent election this time. “Our comrades are at the receiving end,” he said.

Fearing more casualties, CPI(M) state leaders have urged their central leadership to raise the issue of political violence in Bengal at the national level.

“These incidents are results of CPI(M) infighting. If a party remains in power for 32 years, such incidents are bound to happen,” said Subrata Mukherjee, a senior Wet Bengal Pradesh Congress leader and LS candidate from Bankura.

“The communists are trying to make us a scapegoat for their own internal killings,” said Parth Chatterjee, a Trinamool leader.