Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday flew in from Calcutta to Rampurhat on a helicopter sent by Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren from Ranchi after clearance had been delayed for the chopper that was to have ferried him from Calcutta.

The national general secretary of Trinamool claimed a conspiracy by the Bangla-birodhi (anti-Bengal forces), implying the BJP regime at the Centre, for the delay in the clearance.

The BJP has dismissed the allegation.

Sources said the chopper sent by Soren, whose Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a constituent of the INDIA bloc, flew in from Ranchi, 370km to the west of Calcutta, to take Abhishek to Rampurhat, 220km to the north, to address a public meeting.

After being denied permission to take off from Calcutta for nearly two hours, the Trinamool national general secretary reached Birbhum well behind schedule, but used the opportunity to sharpen his narrative of a BJP-backed blockade against his ongoing mega campaign for the Assembly elections.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and heir apparent was slated to fly from the Behala Flying Club at 12.30pm for Birbhum. However, as a mandatory clearance from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) remained elusive, his entourage remained grounded.

A Union civilian ministry source said the eight-seater AgustaWestland’s AW109 that was supposed to carry Abhishek had been imported from the UK. “It was dismantled and brought from the UK, eventually reassembled at Behala,” said the source.

“This was the first time it was scheduled to fly (in India),” he added.

The source said what the aircraft needed to fly on Tuesday morning was a “non-scheduled operator’s licence” from the DGCA. “That was supposed to arrive on Monday from the DGCA. But it arrived on Tuesday afternoon,” he said.

Refusing to give up, the Diamond Harbour MP “used (his) wits”, reaching out to JMM chief Soren to secure a Jharkhand government chopper. The borrowed helicopter finally lifted off at 2.20pm, getting Abhishek to Birbhumat 3.45pm.

“I was late because of a conspiracy by the Bangla-birodhi. They were not permitting my helicopter to take off,” he told a large gatheringat Rampurhat.

“I spoke to Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, requesting him to allow me to use his helicopter instead, so that I was able to reach at a decent time. If they’re bent on stopping me from reaching, I am 10 times more stubborn,” added the MP.

Abhishek said the administrative delay stemmed from the BJP’s alleged fear of his Abar Jitbe Bangla (Bengal will win again) outreach initiative.

“I decided that come what may, I will be reaching this venue as a Trinamool soldier, to address even 10 people if they were still present.... What did I see? Despite the delay, our mothers and sisters turned out in vast numbers,” said Abhishek, thanking the gathering for being patient.

He said that no “tricks” would deter his mission.

“The BJP is like a serpent... they will stop at nothing. If you keep one or 18 in your backyard, eventually you will be bitten. In the elections, stand in the queue to teach them a lesson through the electronic voting machine,” he said, revising the seat-count target for Trinamool from the 215 (in the 294-seat Bengal Assembly) he had set on Friday to 250, to ensure an unprecedented sweep of the House for his aunt’s fourth consecutive term as chief minister.

The BJP said theflight “drama” was a meretechnicality.

Junior Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said Abhishek’s allegations were “baseless” and explained aviation protocols.

“We are not aware of the exact operational details of the DGCA. But it allows movement of aircraft when it decides that routes are clear, and the aircraft are safe to fly. The safety of VIPs... is a primary responsibility of the DGCA. A little delay in flight is always preferable, if it ensures that the security of the person is not compromised,”said Majumdar.

“DGCA does not operate on political whim.... Had something happened to the aircraft — if the DGCA had allowed it to take off without adequate security checks — that too with him in it, they would have held (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi responsible for it,” he added.