Bengal: BJP's Jangipur candidate scuffles with TMC block president

Amid polling for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP's candidate for the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency of Murshidabad, Dhananjay Ghosh, got into a scuffle with the block president of the ruling TMC on Tuesday.

Amid polling for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP's candidate for the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency of Murshidabad, Dhananjay Ghosh, got into a scuffle with the block president of the ruling TMC on Tuesday. Opening up on the affray, the BJP candidate accused the TMC block president of trying to threaten him.

Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Dhananjay Ghosh said, "I was visiting the booth as the BJP candidate and the TMC block president threatened me. If a candidate is openly threatened this way, one can imagine the state of the common people in the state. We will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission about this incident." Voting for Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections in Jangipur started at 7 am on Tuesday, with voters queueing up early to exercise their democratic right.

Political violence during elections is nothing new in Murshidabad, with clashes and deaths reported in the district in all panchayat polls since 2003. Jangipur is set for a keen contest this year, with Dhananjay Ghosh pitted against Khalilur Rahaman of the TMC and Murtoja Hossain Bokul of the Congress.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC won 34 seats in the state while the BJP had to settle for just 2. The CPI(M) won two seats, while the Congress bagged 4. In the 2019 general elections, the TMC dropped to 22 seats while the BJP saw the lotus bloom in 18 seats. The Congress brought up the rear, winning just 2 seats.

The polling for 93 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and Union Territories in the third phase of the general elections started at 7 am on Tuesday. The states and UTs polling in Phase 3 include Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4).

The BJP, earlier, bagged the Surat seat unopposed after the Congress challenger backed out. More than 1300 candidates, including about 120 women, are bidding for membership of the Lok Sabha in the ongoing Phase 3. (ANI)

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