Rathindra Nath Bose, the BJP candidate of the Cooch Behar South Assembly constituency, alleged that a group of Trinamool Congress supporters attacked his convoy with stones, rods and sticks on Tuesday afternoon.

Trinamool leaders, however, have denied the charges.

The incident reportedly took place around 1.45pm near Kesiyabari under the Chandamari panchayat area in Cooch Behar-I block.

According to BJP sources, while the candidate’s vehicle remained unharmed, other vehicles in the convoy suffered damage and at least two BJP workers were assaulted.

Bose claimed this was the third such attack on his campaign.

“This is the third time. First, we were surrounded and prevented from campaigning in Cooch Behar town. Then, near the Torsa Bridge at Ghughumari, our vehicles were stopped on Monday, and we were abused. On Tuesday, Trinamool workers attacked our convoy with rods and sticks on the road,” he said.

Biraj Bose, a district vice-president of the BJP, said that tensions had been building up earlier in the day.

“Before a party meeting in Chilkirhat, we received information that Trinamool has removed and burnt our party flags. Despite that, we went ahead with the meeting. On our way back, our convoy was attacked. Two vehicles were damaged, and two of our workers were beaten up,” he said.

Party sources claimed stones were hurled at the convoy, leading to damage to
vehicles.

Ajit Das, one of the injured BJP workers, has been admitted to the MJN Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

As the news spread, police personnel reached the spot. Patrolling in the area has been stepped up, sources said.

Rejecting the claims, Trinamool’s Cooch Behar district chairman Girindranath Barman dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.

“Trinamool has no involvement in this incident. The BJP candidate is making such claims purely for political purposes as his party has lost its support base in the seat and in the district as a whole,” Barman said.