Kolkata: Flex boards, party banners and festoons at Trinamool Congress offices across West Bengal were allegedly defaced and damaged following the BJP’s landslide victory in the Assembly polls on Monday, even as the saffron party denied any role in the incidents, officials said Monday.
The TMC claimed that hours after poll trends became clear, “miscreants” gathered outside its offices at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas, Tufanganj in Cooch Behar and Panihati in North 24 Parganas and vandalised them.
At Baruipur, flex boards and banners were torn, and photographs of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and party chairperson Mamata Banerjee were thrown on the ground, a local TMC leader alleged.
A senior police officer said forces were deployed in the area, and the crowd that had assembled outside the party office was dispersed.
At Jamuria in Paschim Bardhaman district, unidentified persons allegedly set a local TMC party office on fire, another senior police officer said.
In Asansol, a TMC office was vandalised, with a party leader alleging that BJP supporters were behind the incident.
In Panihati, the TMC alleged that its party office was “captured” after flex boards and flags were removed and replaced with saffron colour and lotus symbols.
There were visuals of a mob, flaunting BJP flags, vandalising a club at Ruby More in Kasba area, but police later intervened and persuaded them to leave the spot.
“We have initiated a case against unidentified persons and a manhunt is on,” a senior police officer said.
BJP, however, denied that any of its supporters were involved.
TMC candidate from Nowapara in North 24 Parganas, Trinankur Bhattacharya, was allegedly beaten up by BJP supporters while coming out of a counting centre in Barrackpore.
Senior BJP leader and Nowapara candidate Arjun Singh, however, denied the allegations and said the incidents were the result of internal disputes within the TMC.
A TMC leader claimed that due to inaction by police, “miscreants” sheltered by the BJP are carrying out concerted attacks on party activists and supporters.
A senior police officer said Bhattacharya had entered into an argument with BJP workers while coming out of the counting centre and was assaulted.
Personnel of the central forces and others present managed to take him out safely from the spot.
An Election Commission official said it has asked police and security forces to maintain peace and prevent attacks on any party candidate or supporters.
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