Several people were injured in a clash between BJP and ISF supporters in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas, while a separate alleged assault involving a BJP leader and his driver in nearby Canning has brought internal conflict within the party into public view. Police have begun investigating both incidents, which have increased political tension in the area.
The Bhangar clash took place on Sunday in the Kalearait area of the Canning East Assembly constituency, within Bhangar-I block. The incident followed an ISF political programme in the locality. According to local sources cited by Anandabazar, supporters of both sides were injured and were taken to the Nalmuri Primary Health Centre for treatment.
The ISF alleged that BJP workers and supporters attacked its members without provocation and prevented them from holding the programme. The party said several of its workers were injured and required hospitalisation. BJP leaders denied the allegations and claimed instead that people allegedly backed by the ISF attacked BJP supporters at a party platform in the area.
Both sides repeated their allegations on Monday. The exact cause of the clash has not been established in the supplied report. Madhabpur police have started an investigation based on the complaints and are examining how the confrontation began. The police response follows a period of heightened political activity in the constituency and comes as local authorities deal with competing claims from the two groups.
A separate incident in Canning East has triggered allegations of an internal BJP dispute. Local BJP leader Arpan Das alleged that he and his driver were assaulted on a road in the Bodra Kalitala area. Das said he had gone there to put up party festoons and banners ahead of a programme by BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya.
According to Das, supporters of Sribas Mondal, the BJP president of the party’s fourth mandal unit, argued with him before assaulting him and his driver. Das also alleged that a BJP supporter named Bimal Sarkar was carrying a firearm during the incident. The report does not establish whether the alleged firearm was recovered or whether anyone was arrested in connection with the claim.
Police forces reached the location after receiving information about the incident, and the situation was reported to be under control. Mondal rejected the allegations against him as completely false and baseless. The incident has nevertheless drawn attention to reported factional tensions within the BJP ahead of the state president’s programme in the area.
The two episodes illustrate the immediate public-safety challenge created when political programmes, local party organisation and competing mobilisation overlap in the same areas. In the Bhangar case, the police investigation will determine the sequence of events and responsibility for the injuries. In Canning, the next official steps will depend on the complaints and any evidence gathered by the police.
