The singer-turned politician's car was vandalised in Barabani area in the morning, shattering its rear windshield, but he was unharmed.
The disturbance happened after Supriyo went inside a polling booth to ensure his party agents were allowed inside. "They are trying to stop me. But they won't be able to stop me like this. I will move to ensure that BJP agents are allowed," Supriyo told the media.
"These men have attacked my car but I would not be resorting to hooliganism. It is a ploy to confine me at a place but I will move.
"Central force can take charge of the booths but the agents are not able to come out from their houses. I will try to go to as many places as possible and help them. This is the modus operandi of the ruling party," he said.
Trinamool Congress workers, on the other hand, alleged that Supriyo and his men had manhandled them.
According to Election Commission sources, a detailed report has been sought in the matter.
Later in the day, Supriyo was heckled by agitators backed by state's ruling Trinamool at Raniganj.
Slogan-shouting Trinamool activists and supporters were seen surrounding him at Raniganj while he was moving from one booth to other.
"I am disappointed with the role of the central forces, though they have tried. Taking the party's agent to polling booth is not the central forces' job. Local police should look at whether people go out to cast their votes. The system is flawed. It is sad that the central forces did not work properly," he said.
The Union Minister alleged that the central force personnel were "offered food and greeted" last night by the Trinamool leaders.
Supriyo also accused the Trinamool activists of capturing booths.
"We are demanding a repoll," he said.
Supriyo, the sitting MP of the Asansol parliamentary constituency, has been re-nominated by the BJP, and he is pitted against the Trinamool's actor-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen.
"The 710 companies will be providing 100 per cent coverage in the state. It will include 512 Quick Response Teams led by Assistant Commandants," Dubey added.
The Central Police Observer would be travelling to all the constituencies between Wednesday and Friday to review arrangements.
The city will soon witness area domination and route marches conducted by the armed forces, said Dubey, who held a meeting with top-police officers to give them necessary instructions.
Nine parliamentary constituencies namely Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar will vote on Sunday.
The votes will be counted on May 23.
"Trinamool Parliamentary team comprising @derekobrienmp, @Sukhendusekhar, Manish Gupta, Nadimul Haque seeks meeting with EC on May 15 in aftermath of attack on Bengal's heritage after Shah roadshow in Kolkata. BJP outsider ruffians resort to arson & break Vidyasagar's bust," All India Trinamool Congress tweeted.
Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had condemned the attack and mentioned that an inquiry will be done.
"It is a very unfortunate incident and an entire college was vandalised. A bust of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar was broken. I have kept broken parts of the bust where the original statue was there. I have never seen such political violence in Kolkata," Banerjee said after visiting the college.
The other two MLAs are Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya from Bishnupur (Trinamool) and Debendra Roy from Hemtabad (CPI-M). Roy represents Bijpur Assembly constituency.
They were received at the BJP office by senior party leader Kailash Vijayavargiya amid slogan shouting.
BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election strategist Prashant Kishor had accepted the BJP’s victory. Malviya shared the audio of Prashant Kishor’s discussion on the ClubHouse platform on social media. In this, Kishor is chatting with some journalists.
In a public chat on ClubHouse, Mamata Banerjee’s election strategist concedes that even in TMC’s internal surveys, BJP is winning. The vote is for Modi, polarisation is a reality, the SCs (27 per cent of WB’s population), Matuas are all voting for the BJP, Amit Malviya- National in-charge of BJP’s Information & Technology department wrote in his tweet.
In the audio, Kishor is saying that on a public chat at the clubHouse, Prashant Kishor admitted that BJP is winning in TMC’s internal survey too. People are voting for Modi and polarization has taken place. SC and Matua, 27 per cent of Bengal’s population all voted for the BJP.
Another candid admission by Kishor is that — all that the Left, Congress and TMC ecosystem have done in the last 20 years is Muslim appeasement. Implication? It has resulted in resentment on the ground. The speakers had not realised that the chat was public, Malviya wrote.
That moment when Mamata Banerjee’s strategist realised that the ClubHouse room was open and his admissions were being heard by the public at large and not just a handful of Lutyens journalist. Deafening silence followed, Malviya added.
Prashant Kishor was immediate to react. “I am happy that the people of BJP are taking my clubHouse chat more seriously than the statements of their leaders. I appeal to them to release the entire conversation except for some part of the chat. In the part that has been released, the question was being answered about how BJP is getting 40 per cent votes and how it has been thinking that the BJP is winning. He also said through social media that the BJP will not be able to cross the 100 mark in Bengal elections” Kishore tweeted.
Sources in the Election Commission said that a preliminary report that reached the special police observer Vivek Dubey suggests that the central forces had to open fire in self-defence.
According to the report, there was tension at booth no 126 at Amtali in Jor Patki village in Sitalkuchi since the morning and as there were more than 400 people in front of the booth, the central forces tried to disperse the mob. When they were trying to move the mob away from the booth more people started rushing in and tried to snatch the firearms from the security forces. This prompted the force to open fire in which four people were killed.
The Election Commission asked for a detailed report from CEO Ariz Aftab. Deputy election commissioner in-charge of West Bengal Sudip Jain asked the CEO to send a detailed report including video footage of the incident. Jain also wanted to know what led the force to open fire on the people. The poll body assured of an impartial inquiry into the incident.
In another incident a first-time voter Ananda Baraman (18), son of Jagadish Barman of Pathantuli, Golenawhati GP, Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar died when he was shot from a firearm by unknown miscreants after he cast his vote and came out from the polling booth. He was brought to the local health center (BPHC) at Sitalkuchi where he was declared dead. His mother was also injured in the incident, the police said.
“Police reached there and detained two suspects for their involvement in the said incident. Raid is going on at the probable hideouts of the suspected accused persons whose names have surfaced at the local level during preliminary inquiry. Additional S.P, Mathabhanga and OC Sitalkuchi P.S also visited the P.O and supervised the incident. Additional S.P, Mathabhanga is camping there,” a senior police officer said.
The puja was performed by a group of servitors at Mamata’s Kalighat residence which also included Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, the chief badagrahi (priest) of Lord Jagannath in Puri.
Mohapatra and some other servitors were brought to the CM’s residence in special vehicle from Puri.
The CM in a Facebook post shared the video of the special puja that reportedly lasted for around 10 hours. In the 2.30 minute long video, a group of servitors were seen performing yagna and chanting hymns.
In another 3.19 minute video posted by Mamata, her nephew Abhishek Banerjee was seen offering prayers during the puja.
“Puja by Jagannath Daitapati at my residence #3,” Mamata captioned both the videos.
https://youtu.be/q2xsJQU31Os
Speaking to OTV on the special puja, Swain Mohapatra, the chief servitor of Lord Jagannath said, the ritual was performed praying for peaceful conduct of the elections.
“Mamata is one of my ardent disciples. She had called me to Kolkata to perform the puja and sent vehicle to Puri. Seven servitors had accompanied me. She holds puja at her residence every year,” Mohapatra said.
Meanwhile, the special puja by Mamata on the day of announcement of poll date has sparked a debate. While Mamata is eyeing to assume power for the third time, the BJP has said that it is confident of a resounding victory in the State.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
After reviewing the reports sent by its two special poll observers and the state government, the Commission concluded that Banerjee sustained injuries due to lapse on part of her security in charge.
The EC will issue directions in this regard, the sources aware of the development said.
They said Banerjee was not using a bullet proof or an armoured vehicle despite being a star campaigner and it was a lapse on part of those responsible for her security.
Banerjee fell down and sustained injuries on her left leg and waist. There were allegations that she was pushed by unidentified people while she was campaigning in Nandigram assembly segment on Wednesday evening after filing her nomination from the constituency.
Accompanied by senior TMC leaders, Banerjee was seen greeting the crowd with folded hands, with security personnel pushing her wheelchair.
Banerjee joined the five km road show from Mayo Road to Hazra More, as part of observation of Nandigram Diwas to commemorate the killing of 14 villagers in police firing during the anti-land acquisition protest in 2007.
"We will continue to fight boldly! I'm still in a lot of pain, but I feel the pain of my people even more. In this fight to protect our revered land, we have suffered a lot and will suffer more but we will NEVER bow down to COWARDICE! Banerjee tweeted minutes before arriving at the venue.
Banerjee was injured on March 10 following which she was admitted to SSKM hospital in Kolkata. She was discharged on March 12.
Carrying posters and placards hailing Banerjee as the "daughter of Bengal", TMC supporters raised slogans against the BJP and called for "defeating the outsiders" in the assembly elections.
At a time when the BJP has invoked Hindutva icons and issues to win a state it has never won before, Mamata is now wearing her Hindu identity interspersed with Bengali pride into the business leg of the campaign.
To Mamata's advantage, invoking her Hindu Brahmin identity is now being amplified into the second round of polling in the 8-leg marathon election. Mamata is battling friend-turned-foe Suvendu Adhikari who has joined the BJP, for the high-profile Nandigram seat.
The BJP has countered Mamata's comment and said this shows that defeat is certain for the incumbent. BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh said that Mamata was announcing her gotra in desperation.
"I never need to say it is my gotra, I write it. But she says it out of fear of losing the election. Mamata Banerjee, please tell me whether Rohingya and infiltrators are also of the Shandilya gotra? Her defeat is certain," Singh said.
Responding to Giriraj Singh, Mahua Mitra, Trinamool Congress MP introduced the "rakshasa" narrative into the already incendiary vocabulary exchange.
Moitra just stopped short of calling Singh "Chotiwala Rakshasa Clan (Ponytailed Demonic clan)".
"Union Minister Giriraj Says Mamata's from 'Rohingya Clan' Proud of it. Far better than being from the Chotiwala Rakshasa Clan!" Mitra said in a tweet.
Locket Chatterjee, BJP MP from Hooghly, attacked the Trinammol and Mitra for "appeasement politics".
"Proud of being a Rohingya and calling Hindus Rakshas is a new low even by TMC's otherwise low standards! Shame on their appeasement politics...", the BJP MP said in a tweet.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also waded into the controversy and pointed out both BJP and TMC for 'invoking Hindutva' during campaign rallies.
"What should happen to people like me who aren't Shandilya or Janeudhari (a reference to Rahul Gandhi), aren't bhakts of certain gods, don't recite Chalisa or any Paath? Every party feels that it has to show its Hindu credentials to win. Unprincipled, insulting & unlikely to succeed", Owaisi said.
In a final gambit just before the curtains came down on campaigning for the second phase of the Bengal election that will include Nandigram seat, Mamata said she belongs to Shandilya- one of the eight highest Brahmin 'gotras'.
The Chief Minister led off by reminiscing about visits to temples, where priests asked her for her 'gotra' or lineage.
"During my second campaign, I visited a temple where the priest enquired about my 'gotra'. I told him 'Maa Maati Manush' (the slogan that powered her to victory in 2011)," Banerjee said, before adding, "Actually. I am Shandilya."