Barrackpore on edge: 'Over-active' Arjun Singh intimidates TMC supporters

Kolkata: Voting in Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency witnessed utter unruly behaviour on the part of BJP candidate Arjun Singh and his supporters throughout the day.

The day began with Singh and his supporters chasing Trinamool Congress supporters with sticks near a booth at Mansatala Primary School in Kankinara. The Central Forces intervened and brought the situation under control. Soon after, Singh was involved in a scuffle with TMC supporters and the police at a booth in Mohanpur and sustained injuries on his lips.

Singh again went to Kankinara where he faced agitation from TMC supporters who greeted him with "go-back" slogans. The personal security guards of Singh somehow managed to disperse the agitators.

It was till 2 pm when Singh was seen near a number of booths at Jagaddal, Naihati, Halisahar. In the late afternoon when he went to Amdanga, he was chased by some TMC supporters after he allegedly tried to intimidate them. Singh lost his balance and fell on the ground and was somehow escorted away from the spot by his personal security guards.

While Singh was over-active, TMC candidate Dinesh Trivedi was found in a relaxed mood. Trivedi was seen mainly in Bhatpara till 2 pm and in the late afternoon, tried his hands on cricket with a few children.

"The common people have showed their anger against Singh through agitations wherever he went. Singh had tried to intimidate voters with his muscle power before the elections. I am hopeful that people of Barrackpore have vented out their rage against him and we would know when the ballot box is opened on May 23," Trivedi said.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim lashed out at Singh for demanding repoll in all the booths in Barrackpore. "Singh was seen resorting to hooliganism from the morning, knowing fully well that he will be facing defeat. The saffron party is making such hue and cry after each of the elections in an effort to disturb the peaceful polling in the state," he added.

Bhatpara is one of the Assembly constituencies under Barrackpore parliamentary constituency which was won by Arjun Singh with a Trinamool Congress ticket in 2016 Assembly polls.

Singh joined the BJP and has been fielded by the saffron party against Trivedi.

The latter had won the Barrackpore seat in the last Lok Sabha polls by a huge margin and the BJP had come third.