Tension gripped the Jalpaiguri Assembly constituency after posters of Trinamool Congress candidate Krishna Das were allegedly torn down on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town on Tuesday.
The party accused BJP-backed goons of vandalism. In protest, Trinamool workers and supporters blocked the Haldibari–Jalpaiguri state highway at Sipahipara Bazaar from Tuesday morning.
The blockade lasted for nearly one and a half hours, disrupting traffic. A Trinamool source said posters featuring Krishna Das had been put up along a five-kilometre-long stretch from Siphaipara Bazaar to Bodhni More on Monday.
Police from the Manikganj police outpost of the Kotwali police station spoke to the protesters, who eventually withdrew the blockade around 9.30am. They have initiated a probe.
The police are checking the CCTV footage to find the culprits.
Party workers on Tuesday found that most of the posters had been torn, their frames broken and thrown onto the road. Several banners and hoardings were dumped into a nearby river.
Posters and flags of the BJP and other political parties in the area were found intact, further escalating tension.
Dhananjay Roy, president of Trinamool’s Kharija Berubari-1 committee, alleged that the BJP was attempting to create unrest in the area.
“We have filed complaints with the police and the Election Commission. Such incidents have also occurred in Patharkata, Ramakrishna Colony and Nagar Berubari. The police should immediately take steps,” he said.
The BJP denied the accusations. Soumen Roy, a BJP leader of the area, said the BJP does not engage in such activities. “The incident might be a fallout of internal conflicts within TMC,” he added.