Hundreds of BJP workers protest candidate list in Kolkata

Several protesters tried to force their way into the election office after which heavy police personnel were deployed in order to control the situation.

Hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers protested against the BJP's candidate list that includes the former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders as its candidates for the West Bengal Assembly elections. An angry mob of supporters of the party held protests outside the Kolkata Election Office of BJP on Monday and heckled senior leaders Mukul Roy, Arjun Singh and Shiv Prakash.

Several protesters tried to force their way into the election office after which heavy police personnel were deployed in order to control the situation. Several other BJP offices in the districts were also ransacked, NDTV reported. Reportedly, protestors to show up first came in around 2 pm from Panchla in Howrah. They sat on dharna outside the office with banners and posters calling the BJP candidate Mohit Ghati "characterless, drunkard".

In Hooghly district, BJP workers ransacked the party office at Singur and the BJP's district headquarters office at Chinsura. On Sunday, after the nomination of former Trinamool MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya as BJP candidate from Singur, the BJP workers locked him inside a shop in Singur, where he was meeting with party workers. He was rescued by the police after 4 hours. A party office at Chinsura was also ransacked, where the BJP has fielded its sitting MP Locket Chatterjee.

Joy Banerjee, a BJP leader who has not been given a ticket, said, "I am thinking of changing my platform," reported NDTV. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had gone to Assam and was on his way to Delhi but returned to Kolkata late on Monday night. A senior BJP leader said that while Mr Shah and BJP president JP Nadda held a meeting in Kolkata on Monday night, a second meeting was held on Tuesday morning, reported Hindustan Times. West Bengal Assembly elections to 294 seats will be held in eight phases from March 27 to April 29 while the counting of votes will take place on May 2.