The Nadia police on Tuesday, 26 November arrested five persons, including one who had allegedly assaulted BJP leader and the party's candidate Jay Prakash Majumdar during the by-poll to Karimpur assembly seat.
The arrested were slapped with charges under sections of the IPC and produced on Tuesday at the Tehatta sub divisional court which granted them bail on bonds of Rs 1500 each.
On Monday, senior BJP leader Majumdar was beaten up allegedly by Trinamul Congress activists in Nadia district when he was entering a polling booth.
Video footage showed Majumdar, who is vice president of the Bengal state unit of the BJP, being beaten up and kicked by some people at Phipulkhola area of the constituency.
Holding TMC “goons” responsible for the act, he said, wounds will heal but the incident is a “clear” sign of the “end of democracy” in West Bengal.
The BJP leader alleged that the TMC activists were false voters who had assembled in the area with the intention of rigging polls.
BJP national general secretary and party’s Bengal minder, Kailash Vijayvargiya shared ANI footage of the incident on Twitter, alleging that “TMC goons resorted to violence and fighting,” and that “this reflects the fear of defeat which the TMC workers are feeling.”
“But it will not demoralise me and I will continue to visit all the booths. I have complained to the Election Commission,” Majumdar said.
‘Shows Mamata’s Jitteriness Ahead of Bypolls’
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in Delhi, BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao lashed out at the TMC saying, “The manner in which Mamata Banerjee is resorting to political violence to win the by-elections shows her jitteriness and the Election Commission should take cognisance of it.”
Denying the allegations as “baseless”, the Nadia district unit of the TMC said, locals had attacked Majumdar as they were angry with him for "vitiating" the poll atmosphere.
The EC has sought reports about the incident.
TMC MP, Mohua Moitra declined to comment on the incident. Bypolls in the Karimpur assembly seat was necessitated after it was vacated by Moitra who emerged victorious from Krishnnanagar Lok Sabha seat in May.
CPI(M)-Congress candidate Gholam Rabbi is contesting against BJP’s Majumdar and TMC's Bimalendu Singha Roy.
Besides Karimpur, by-polls are underway in Kharagpur Sadar and Kaliaganj Assembly seats. While Kharagpur Sadar and Karimpur seats were held by the TMC, Kaliaganj was represented in the Assembly by the Congress. The Kharagpur Sadar seat fell vacant as the sitting TMC MLA contested and won Lok Sabha seat.
By-polls were necessitated in Kaliaganj following the death of Congress MLA Parmathanath Roy.
About 30.17 percent of over seven lakh electorate exercised their franchise in the by-polls to the three Assembly seats till 11 am.
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