West Bengal elections 2021: BJP, TMC workers come to blows in Baranagar hours before campaign ends

Kolkata, Apr 14: BJP and Trinamool Congress workers Wednesday came to blows as trouble broke out during a motorcycle rally for the saffron partys candidate from Baranagar assembly constituency, Parno Mittra in the northern outskirts of the city hours before the campaign for the assembly election in the seat ended.

Police said trouble began as the motorcycle rally was passing by Satin Sen Nagar in the constituency following altercations between the TMC and BJP. Several activists of both parties sustained injuries.

Mittra alleged that the TMC activists in the area had been threatening her party supporters for the past one week and suddenly started beating up BJP workers in the rally including some women. The actor-tunred-politician led her supporters to Baranagar police station and held a sit-in protest there for several hours disrupting movement of traffic on the adjacent busy BT Road.

TMC led by its candidate for the constituency, state minister Tapas Roy too led a procession of party workers to the police station in protest against BJP's "attempts to instigate trouble in the peaceful Baranagar area". Police, however, prevented him from entering it as the workers of the two parties came face to face.

Roy, who was accompanied by TMC MP Sougata Roy, alleged Mittra was instigating trouble by bringing in outsiders to the area. He claimed that the BJP workers had beat up several TMC party workers who had to be hospitalised. A strong force was posted at the spot to ensure peace in the area, the police added.