BJP workers and supporters, angered by the nomination of Taraknath Chatterjee as the party’s candidate for the Krishnanagar North Assembly constituency in Nadia district, staged a demonstration in front of the party’s district office on Saturday night and locked it up.
The demonstrations continued from Saturday night to Sunday morning, culminating in a deadlock outside the BJP office in Krishnanagar and embarrassing the party leadership ahead of the Assembly elections.
The unrest also sparked intense internal debate within the district BJP unit ahead of the elections, with many openly questioning the choice of candidate.
The BJP had on Saturday night released a fresh list of candidates for five more Assembly seats in the state, including Krishnanagar North, naming Chatterjee as its nominee for the seat.
However, the announcement was met with immediate resistance from grassroots leaders and workers.
Protesters asserted that Chatterjee was “ineligible” for the seat and alleged that his candidature had effectively handed an advantage to the Trinamool Congress.
The protesters levelled a series of allegations against Chatterjee, claiming his involvement in multiple corruption cases and accusing him of being disconnected from grassroots workers.
“He was never found standing beside party workers in times of need. During previous elections, when party workers were in trouble, he did not respond despite repeated calls. Instead, he avoided the situation,” alleged one of the agitating supporters.
A section of the local BJP unit also accused him of hobnobbing with local Trinamool Congress leaders.
“If Tarak (Chatterjee) contests from this constituency, it will only benefit the Trinamool Congress. The BJP will not be able to win this seat,” a protester said, demanding that Chatterjee’s candidature be withdrawn immediately.
The agitation took a more organised turn as protesters declared that the lock on the district office would remain in place until BJP district president Arjun Biswas engaged in a face-to-face discussion with them.
“We will not open the lock unless the district president comes and talks to us directly. This movement will continue,” a protester asserted. “Fielding Chatterjee from Krishnanagar North would amount to indirectly aiding the ruling party in the
constituency.”
Contacted, Chatterjee declined to comment on the controversy.
While the district BJP leadership initially maintained that the party would campaign in favour of the officially announced candidate, the deepening rift at the grassroots level has raised concerns over organisational cohesion in the run-up to the polls.
The Krishnanagar North Assembly constituency had hit the headlines in the 2021 Assembly elections. Trinamool Congress turncoat Mukul Roy had won the seat on a BJP ticket then. Roy died in February this year.