Long queues in boots proof of TMC’s success: Chandrima
Trinamul Congress hopes to do well in the three seats of Balurghat, Raiganj and Darjeeling, which went to the polls today.
A day after BJP supporters held protest outside the party’s election office in Kolkata all day, heckling senior leaders Mukul Roy, Arjun Singh and Shiv Prakash, against fielding a large number of turncoats from Trinamul Congress as BJP candidate, Union home minister Amit Shah today asked Bengal BJP leaders to join at a meeting in Delhi tonight to resolve the matter.
Yesterday, BJP’s election office became a scene of ruckus after hundreds of people tried to force their way into the office, decrying party’s decision to field TMC turncoats in several seats. Even protests took place yesterday when Shah was in Bengal following his rally.
He even cancelled his trip and called up all senior BJP leaders at night to discuss this matter at a city hotel.
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Today, BJP supporters also continued and intensified protest against turncoats who became candidates. Protesters threatened self-immolation if their grievances were not addressed. BJP’s general secretary Pratap Banerjee spoke to BJP supporters and assured them that party will solve the matter. But they are still continuing their agitation.
Police had a harrowing time to disperse them.
Situation took a grim turn in the districts, where BJP workers put up roadblock and burnt tyres to protest against selection of TMC leaders as BJP candidates.
What could be more worrying for the BJP is the ransacking of its office at Chinsura where the BJP has fielded not a former Trinamul leader but its sitting MP Locket Chatterjee.
BJP’s candidate list includes several actors; eight Trinamul defectors and four sitting MPs, including the party’s two-time Union minister Babul Supriyo. Sources say these seats had strong local contenders. Their supporters have rebelled, threatening to field independent candidates to defeat BJP’s.
This is unfortunate but a temporary situation, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said during a Press conference.
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