3 TMC, 2 BJP candidates attacked on poll day

Three Trinamool candidates and two BJP candidates were attacked during the third phase of polling in West Bengal on Tuesday. Trinamool’s Arambagh candidate Sujata Mondal Khan, Uluberia North candidate Nirmal Majhi, Khanakul candidate Nazbul Karim, BJP’s Falta candidate Bidhan Parui and Uluberia South candidate Papia Adhikari were the ones attacked. Trinamool and BJP blamed each other for the violence.

Sujata Mondal was attacked and chased allegedly by BJP supporters wielding bamboo sticks and her security personnel received severe head injuries. Visuals showed Mondal running through the fields of Arandi of her Arambagh constituency, chased by men with sticks and rods. “Our Scheduled Caste candidate Sujata was attacked when she visited a booth. In Canning East, our candidate Shaukat Mollah was prevented by security forces from entering a booth. There are numerous instances of attack on our candidates and party workers across the state,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee said at a rally in North Bengal. Banerjee also alleged at a public meeting in Alipurduar that BJP activists were forcibly occupying polling booths and attacking Trinamool workers, including party candidates.

Trinamool has filed complaints to EC and CEO’s office in Bengal about the attack on its candidates. “BJP goons attacked Sujata Mondal at Arandi-I booth no.263 Mahallapara. Her personal security officer has suffered grievous injuries on head & is in critical state. CRPF personnel were silent spectators,” Derek O'Brien said in an email complaint to EC. “We have minority and Scheduled Caste voters in Arandi I. Miscreants of BJP threatened, tortured and misbehaved with women voters last night. Our workers have been beaten up,” alleged Mondal.


BJP rejected the allegations. Another woman candidate from Uluberia South, BJP’s Papia Adhikari, was attacked and assaulted. Her assailants held her by the neck and pushed her. Adhikari said she was slapped and beaten up allegedly by a group of Trinamool workers when she tried to enter a hospital where injured BJP workers were admitted.

In the third incident, Trinamool candidate Nirmal Maji was heckled allegedly by BJP supporters and his security personnel received head injuries. In Falta, BJP candidate Bidhan Parui’s vehicle was attacked allegedly by Trinamool workers. In Khanakul, Trinamool candidate Najmul Karim was beaten up by alleged BJP activists twice during the day. The EC suspended a sector officer for keeping three sets of EVMs and VVPATs at the residence of a suspected Trinamool supporter in Uluberia. “Tapan Sarkar, a sector officer of Sector 17 in AC 177 Uluberia Uttar at Howrah District went with Reserve EVM and slept at a relative’s house.