Day after polls, clashes rock Birbhum, Asansol & Nadia

Kolkata: Violence continued across Bengal’s districts that went to polls in the fourth phase as rival parties targeted each other throughout Tuesday. With the election blitzkrieg reaching fever-pitch among the heads of parties, the sporadic incidents showed how the words played out at the grassroots.
The day began with clashes between Trinamool and BJP in Bolpur’s Mayureswar, Asansol’s Barabani and Kri-shnanagar’s Chapra, the thr-ee places that saw maximum violence on Monday, too.
BJP activist Sentu Bauri from Battala village had a sharp wound on his thumb, a price he had to pay for coming in the way of Trinamool toughs on election day. Armed TMC men targeted Sentu and stabbed him in the palm while he was going to the village market on Tuesday. Local TMC leader and polling agent of booth 19, Bikash Bauri, allegedly led the assault.
As word spread, BJP supporters ransacked Bikash’s house in the afternoon and hung a BJP flag there. His wife Lakshmi allegedly saved herself by throwing chilli po-wder at the BJP supporters. Police took Bikash into custody but that couldn’t pacify BJP supporters.
Two Adivasi BJP workers suffered serious head injuries at Nandai village under Asansol constituency. BJP workers alleged TMC men attacked them because they had resisted rigging on Monday. Another six, three from Andal and three from Durgapur, also suffered injuries.
BJP workers also sustained injuries following clashes in Nadia on Tuesday. BJP’s Krishnanagar candidate Kalyan Choubey said: “Trinamool men attacked our men to spread tension in the locality. They did it before the polls and followed it up after elections were over.”
(With inputs from
Someswar Boral,
Ashis Poddar and Md Asif)