West Bengal Assembly by-election 2019: BJP candidate Jay Prakash Majumdar beaten up by TMC workers while entering polling booth

Kolkata: Senior BJP leader and party’s candidate for Karimpur Assembly bypoll 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.

#WATCH West Bengal BJP Vice President and candidate for Karimpur bypoll, Joy Prakash Majumdar manhandled and kicked allegedly by TMC workers as voting is underway in the constituency. #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/Vpb5s14M5A

— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2019

“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, bypolls 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. Bypolls 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 bypolls to the three Assembly seats till 11 am.