Suvendu, Abhishek face off raises December mercury in West Bengal ahead of rural polls

In a duel ahead of the panchayat polls, BJP strongman Suvendu Adhikari and TMC's second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee took on the other's home turf on Saturday, showcasing their might and raising the political temperature of the state on a December afternoon.

The political tensions were marked by violence in both areas, leading to the death of three people in a blast near the venue of Banerjee's rally, while vandalism and arson rocked the place where Adhikari addressed a public meeting.

Addressing the meeting in South 24 Parganas's Diamond Harbour -- the Lok Sabha constituency of Banerjee, Adhikari asked BJP workers to be prepared for a ''big battle'' with an eye on the panchayat polls, due to be held early next year.

Alleging that BJP candidates were not allowed to file their nominations in the 2018 panchayat elections, he warned that this time around the ''game'' will be a different one.

''You decide the names of candidates from the villages and we will ensure that they are able to file their nominations,'' he told BJP workers.

''I will hold a huge rally in this district again this month,'' he added.

Brushing aside the TMC's allegations of stepmotherly treatment of West Bengal, Adhikari claimed that Rs 19,000 crore was given to the state by the Centre this month.

''The Centre has given funds under PM Awas Yojana, Samagra Shiksha Mission and PM Gram Sadak Yojana,'' he said.

Ahead of the rally, clashes broke out in the nearby Hatuganj area when TMC supporters allegedly stopped a bus, in which BJP supporters were travelling.

Stones were hurled, two-wheelers parked on the roadside were set ablaze and a nearby TMC party office was torched as chaos reigned supreme in the area. A large contingent of the police soon reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

On the other bank of the Hooghly, Banerjee addressed a rally in Purba Medinipur's Kanthi -- just a stone's throw away from Adhikari's residence.

Calling Adhikari a 'RAC' Leader of Opposition, alluding to the railway's reservation against cancellation rule for seats, Banerjee maintained that his victory in last year's assembly elections in Nandigram over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was under a legal challenge.

Banerjee, the nephew of the chief minister, alleged that Adhikari had won the election by ''unfair means'', and claimed that fresh elections would lead to his ''befitting'' defeat.

''He claims to have defeated the CM. He calls her a compartmental CM. Before name-calling Mamata Banerjee he must realise that he himself is a RAC opposition leader. He is the only MLA in India, whose victory is still under trial,'' the TMC's national general secretary said.

''You took to 'load shedding' (power black-out) to win the Nandigram election... media had telecast that Mamata Banerjee won the elections. Take it from me that if there is a fresh election in Nandigram, people here will give a befitting reply,'' he said.

Tension was palpable in the area after three people, including a TMC worker, were killed and several others injured in a blast at a house in Bhupatinagar, just 1.5 km from the venue of the rally.

The blast happened on Friday night, and the bodies were recovered on Saturday morning, police said.

The impact of the blast was such that the kuchcha house was blown off, they said.

While Adhikari demanded an NIA probe alleging that the explosion happened accidentally when TMC workers were making crude bombs, Banerjee claimed this was what the BJP meant by ''December dhamaka''.

''They wanted to bomb my rally. But I won't run away like them,'' he said.

Banerjee also joined the bandwagon of anti-BJP leaders in criticising actor Paresh Rawal, stating, ''He said that Bengalis are Bangladeshis. Why is BJP silent on Paresh Rawal's insulting remarks against Bengalis? Why isn't Adhikari babu saying anything? Where is the urgency in filing FIR against someone who has insulted Bengalis?'' The TMC leader said that on the way to the rally venue he met some villagers belonging to the SC and ST communities. ''They told me that they don't even have a roof over their head, and when it rains, the water stays for months. Nothing happened when they complained to the pradhan and his deputy,'' he said, asking them to resign within 48 hours.

''If that doesn’t happen, the state government will act as per the law,'' he warned.