Kolkata: “Has jhalmuri reached here as well?”Halfway across the world, in the Netherlands, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joked before a cheering diaspora audience, invoking the Bharatiya Janata Party’s historic win in the May 2026 West Bengal assembly elections and turning the state’s beloved street food into a symbol of his party’s political conquest. But back on the oil-stained asphalt of the Sealdah South railway station, jhalmuri seller Pijush Halder was not laughing. In the intervening night of May 16 and 17, Indian Railways, through the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP), removed hawkers whom officials described as “encroachers” on railway land under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.Halder’s vending cart on platform number 17 is now splintered wood and twisted metal. For 24 years, that cart had fed his family of six, including two school-going children.For Halder, the demolition also comes as a betrayal for another reason.Sealdah station area in the aftermath of the demolitions. Photo: Pijush Halder.Speaking to The Wire, Halder said, “Since 2017, I spent money from my own pocket to work for the party [BJP]. I did not fear bombs or bullets. After helping bring this government to power, I now realise I made a mistake. I have understood that this government is not sympathetic to the poor. When hunger strikes, the truth comes out. That is what has happened. Thank you, BJP government, for kicking me in the stomach.”Bengal is now seeing a massive structural shift. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took oath on May 9, 2026, and almost overnight, the state’s long-standing urban system of negotiated informality, the unspoken truce between the working poor and the authorities, was dismantled in favour of a centralised model of aggressive executive enforcement. The noise of the bulldozer has now emerged as the signature soundtrack of the new administration.On May 18, Halder, accompanied by the Left-affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) leader Gargi Chatterjee, met the Divisional Railway Manager of Eastern Railway. Chatterjee said over one lakh hawkers in Bengal were facing eviction as part of station redevelopment drives.“This is a question of livelihood. They need rehabilitation,” Chatterjee said. “We will continue our movement until they get adequate compensation and rehabilitation.”Sealdah is among the busiest railway stations in the country, with trains running almost continuously through its Main and South sections. On weekdays, nearly 18 lakh passengers use the station. But after the eviction drive, the area adjoining the station, main road and Metro station have looked unusually empty.‘I cannot afford to go back’For years, vendors had sold fruits, vegetables, shoes, condiments, lemon water, tea, biscuits, boiled eggs and toast to daily commuters. On May 18, as much as 90% of their presence was gone.A fruit seller from Bihar’s Sasaram, who said he had sold fruits there for more than 25 years, had made his way to the station but did not appear keen to talk. “I don’t know what to do,” he said. “See, I have so many fresh fruits, but I don’t know how to attract customers anymore.”Also read: Bulldozers in the Modi Decade: A Symbol of Quick ‘Justice’ and Collective PunishmentAsked whether he would go to court, he said that he was yet undecided. Another hawker standing nearby said, “We are waiting for the hawker union’s decision.”A post-demolition Sealdah station. Photo: Anwesha BanerjeeA 28-year-old man preparing lemon water in a corner said he had never seen such an operation in Kolkata before.“Yes, I am scared. I have never seen anything like what happened yesterday. The big stalls there, where juice is sold, are safe. One glass there costs nothing less than Rs 80,” he said. “I cannot afford to go back to Uttar Pradesh, there is no work there worth doing. I am not Muslim, but even for me then there is no work there.”Several hawkers who were at the station area on May 18 said they had struck an arrangement among themselves that one person would keep watch and alert the others if police action began. The response among commuters was divided. Some commuters were shocked, some surprised, and some visibly pleased.Satakshi Ghosh, a botany student and daily commuter from Krishnagar, said she felt bad for the evicted hawkers. “They are poor hawkers. I used to buy hair clips, handkerchiefs and other small things from them,” she said.Her friend Baishali Guha added, “We used to have tea from there. Dada is not here today. I will look for him when I return in the afternoon.”A family waiting for a cab noticed the changed appearance of the station premises. One of them asked a police personnel nearby, “Why is this place looking so clean?”With a grin, the policeman replied, “Bhaga diya Rail ne”. The Railways drove them away.Some passengers welcomed the action. Arijit Basu, a daily commuter, said the hawkers had made the area clumsy and unhygienic. “They had turned this road into a dustbin. Nasty smell, cough, gutkha spit. Horrible. Today is really a great day,” Basu said.Asked whether he was concerned about the hawkers’ livelihoods, he replied, “No, not at all. Why should I be? I want to see this city developed.”Howrah, New Market, TiljalaThe Sealdah action followed other high-profile bulldozer drives in the state. On May 16, a major anti-encroachment drive outside Howrah station cleared makeshift shops between the banks of the Ganga and the station entrance. On May 5, a TMC-affiliated trade union office in New Market was demolished amid post-poll tensions. On May 12, a devastating fire tore through an unauthorised leather workshop operating on the second floor of a multi-storey building in Tiljala of south Kolkata, leaving two people dead. Chief minister Adhikari moved immediately, declaring that the building was entirely illegal, lacked any sanctioned plan, and ordered its immediate demolition. Within hours, municipal bulldozers arrived and began tearing down the structure, throwing entire families onto the streets overnight and triggering intense public anger. Residents had protested the government’s move, saying they were given no time to vacate or collect their belongings. Several parts of the building had already been demolished before the matter reached the high court.Tiljala. Photo: Anwesha Banerjee.State minister Dilip Ghosh defended the approach, telling reporters, “Bulldozers will roll across the entire country…wherever there is illegal construction, bulldozers will be deployed.” The Tiljala action, however, has now faced judicial intervention. Acting on a petition filed file by leaders from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Calcutta high court has granted an interim stay on the demolition. While granting the protection, the court noted the earlier government’s “inaction” despite previous judicial directions on illegal constructions in the city. The court also said no construction could be demolished without following the law. The court also said no business could operate from the premises, no one could live there, no resident would receive rehabilitation at this stage, and the damaged portions could not be repaired. The next hearing has been scheduled for June 22.‘Why are we the targets?’The Topsia area, the old south-east Kolkata settlement, wore a tense calm on May 18 morning. Shops were open, vegetable vendors were at work, schoolchildren were on their way to class, and women in hijab went about household chores. But in front of the half-demolished structures on G.J. Khan Road, police remained standing in the heat.Baby Akhtar, a resident of the area for more than 45 years, asked why Topsia had been singled out. “Illegal properties are everywhere. Be it Mominpur or Metiabruz, Rajabazar or Khidirpur. Why are we the targets? The government did not go there and start a demolition drive,” she told The Wire.Locals said fires had broken out in the area before, but bulldozers had never arrived so swiftly afterwards. One resident in his early 70s, who did not want to be named, said, “These are mostly illegal constructions. Everyone knows that. That does not mean bulldozers should suddenly start demolishing them without any intimation from the state government or the administration.”Baby’s neighbour, Manwara Begum, asked why residents were not given time to save their belongings. “Why didn’t they give us some time to move away with our essentials and belongings? We are really helpless,” she said.The adjacent building is now deserted. Families who lived there have left, many leaving their belongings behind. “Many of them are staying at relatives’ homes out of fear. They must be given more time to vacate the building,” Baby said.Near Tallykhola Mosque, a cobbler sat, unwilling at first to speak. After a while, he said in an almost inaudible voice, “If I have to leave this place, I don’t know where to go. They have said no one will kick us out, but I am concerned.” He refused to say who had given the assurance, and did not want to disclose his own name either.A group of young men shifting belongings from nearby buildings said some local “party leaders” had assured residents that they would not be affected, refusing to elaborate.Also read: Bulldozers Reflect the Clash of Development and Displacement in Bengal‘Zero tolerance’Residents questioned why neither local Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Javed Ahmed Khan nor members of his family, who have represented the area in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for decades, had visited the spot. Khan has represented Kasba for 20 years and won with a sizeable margin this time as well. The fire-hit area falls under Ward 66, which is represented at the civic level by his son, Faiyaz Ahmed Khan. Residents said neither father nor son had come to the site in the four days after the demolition began.One young man said, “We contacted him, and MLA saheb told us he is looking into the matter and asked us not to worry.”Hearing notices under the Municipal Act have now been pasted on the two buildings.The new chief minister has announced a “zero tolerance” policy on illegal construction and has specifically named areas such as Kasba, Tiljala, Ekbalpur and Mominpur – all Muslim neighbourhoods. He has said electricity and water connections to illegal buildings will be cut.Opposition leaders have questioned both the speed and the selectivity of the action. CPI(M) leader Shatarup Ghosh, who had visited the Topsia site with the court’s stay order, asked why demolition began without fixing responsibility on those who had allowed the illegal construction to come up.Police personnel lathicharge protestors during protest against a recent demolition drive at Tiljala area among other issues, at Park Circus area, in Kolkata, Sunday, May 17, 2026. Photo: PTI.“Where are the TMC councillors and the MLA? Where are the men behind the illegal constructions? Why aren’t they out here protecting the residents? Why isn’t the government taking action against them? Was it because the present CM [Adhikari] was part of the same government that allowed this to happen?” Ghosh told The Wire.Former Ward 67 councillor and CPI(M) candidate Dipu Das said the Left had always opposed illegal construction but insisted that due process must be followed.“When I was councillor of Ward 67, I myself had submitted details of 42 illegal properties to the KMC,” Das told The Wire. “If it is illegal, then the government must act, but not without issuing notices to residents and not overnight. So many important documents may be there. If those are lost because of this sudden action, who will pay for that?”The Wire reached out to local MLA Javed Khan several times. This report will be updated if he responds.‘Payment’A builder from Tiljala, requesting anonymity, alleged that illegal construction in the area had long survived through political and administrative patronage.“If the entire property is illegal, then you have to pay more money to the local councillor, MLA, police station and contractors. The amount ranges between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh for councillors, Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for MLAs, and for the thana it is minimum Rs 2 lakh per project,” he claimed.Asked what happened if anyone refused to pay, he laughed and said, “Then business will be forcefully closed down that very day.”The builder’s account pointed to the contradiction at the centre of Kolkata’s informal urban growth in the last decade. Illegality was not hidden from the state but often sustained through it. The new government now claims to be dismantling this system through zero tolerance enforcement. But often, this translates into a ruthless form of state action. This raises serious questions of due process, especially after the Supreme Court’s November 13, 2024, judgment noting that all demolition drives require prior notice, proper service, a hearing, and time to vacate before demolition, except in cases involving unauthorised structures on public land or those ordered by a court.Opposition parties have accused the new government of using bulldozers as a political spectacle rather than as part of a lawful urban policy. Mamata Banerjee, now in the opposition again after the TMC’s defeat, has said that “bulldozers cannot become the language of governance in a state built on culture, compassion, and resistance to oppression.” For the likes of Sealdah vendor Halder, however, the issue is not abstract. His politics and livelihood have collided at the site of his demolished jhalmuri cart.