BJP's candidate Jay Prakash Majumdar heckled, CEO seeks report

Senior BJP leader and party's candidate for Karimpur Assembly by-poll Jay Prakash Majumdar was on Monday allegedly beaten up by TMC activists at Phipulkhola area of Nadia district when he was entering a polling booth.

TV footage showed Majumdar being beaten up and kicked by some people.

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.

"But it will not demoralise me and I will continue to visit all the booths. I have complained to the Election Commission," Majumdar, the vice president of the state unit of the BJP, said.

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.

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.

In Karimpur, vacated by MLA Mahua Moitra after emerging victorious from Krishnnanagar Lok Sabha seat, CPI(M)-Congress candidate Gholam Rabbi is contesting against Majumdar and TMC's Bimalendu Singha Roy.

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 per cent of over seven lakh electorate exercised their franchise in the by-polls to the three Assembly seats till 11 am.