Bhabanipur bypoll: BJP stopped from campaigning near CM Mamata Banerjee's house, claims party chief Sukanta Majumdar

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar claimed that they were stopped from campaigning on Harish Chatterjee Street that leads to the residence of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

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New Delhi: Amid upcoming Bhabanipur by-election in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday (September 22) said that the Kolkata police did not allow its workers to campaign in the area near Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence.

Newly-appointed West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar claimed that they were stopped from campaigning on Harish Chatterjee Street that leads to the residence of Banerjee. BJP has fielded advocate and leader Priyanka Tibrewal from Bhabanipur constituency in the September 30 bypolls where she will contest against CM Mamata Banerjee.

Majumdar claimed the Kolkata police prevented BJP from campaigning as the ruling TMC was in fear of losing the upcoming bypoll, PTI reported. "The TMC has got afraid and is not allowing the BJP to campaign, but the people will break the barricades," the state BJP chief told reporters. 

Accusing the Kolkata police of bias towards the ruling political party, Majumdar said, “Professionalism of West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police has been destroyed.”

However, the police denied BJP’s allegations. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Akash Magharia said, "They did not have vaccination certificates and they were trying to breach the high-security zone which is why they were diverted from that road." 

BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato and Magharia also engaged in a war of words, where Mahato claimed that only the number of people specified by the Election Commission for the door-to-door campaign was present, but the police said that there were more people in the entourage.

BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal also claimed that she was not allowed from campaigning on the street on Tuesday despite having permission.

"There are voters on that street and despite having permission, why cannot I or our party go there to campaign?" she asked. 

Meanwhile, Union minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri went on a door-to-door campaign in Bhabanipur in support of Tibrewal and said he saw "clear support" for BJP in the area.

Puri tweeted, "In my conversations with residents of Ram Mohan Dutta Road in the Ray Street area of Bhabanipur, shared their issues & concerns. But there is clear support for the BJP candidate Smt. Priyanka Tibrewal."

(With agency inputs)