West Bengal Assembly Election: BJP, TMC Activists Clash In Nandigram, Three Injured

A clash broke out between BJP and TMC activists on Saturday in Purba Medinipur's Nandigram constituency -- which is set to go to polls on April 1 -- leaving at least three persons seriously injured, a senior police officer here said.

The election agent of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Seikh Sufiyan, however, claimed that goons hired by the BJP carried out an attack on the workers of the state's ruling party, a charge denied by the saffron camp.

"All three, who sustained injuries during the attack, are activists of the TMC. They were rushed to SSKM hospital in Kolkata. The condition of one of them has been stated to be serious," Sufiyan said.

BJP goons have "let loose a reign of terror" in Nandigram over the past 15 days, he alleged.

"These goons have been visiting homes of TMC activists to attack them, twisting their hands and even snatching gold chains. The police, however, are not doing anything about it," he said.

Denying Sufiyan's allegation, the senior police officer said the action was immediately taken to bring the situation under control and restore peace in the region.

Local BJP leaders, on their part, contended that the TMC men are trying to disrupt peace in the constituency -- where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is locked in a fierce battle with protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari.

"None of our workers was involved in any attack on TMC activists. On the contrary, the ruling camp members assaulted our karyakartas during Suvendu Adhikari's rallies. The three TMC men, undergoing treatment, must be victims of infighting," a saffron party leader said.

(With PTI inputs.)