BJP's Jangipur candidate engages in scuffle with TMC Bloc President at polling booth

During the third phase of Lok Sabha elections, a scuffle erupted between BJP's candidate for Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency, Dhananjay Ghosh, and the block president of ruling TMC in Murshidabad. Ghosh accused the TMC block president of attempting to intimidate him during his visit to a polling booth. 

"I was visiting the booth as the BJP candidate and the TMC block president threatened me. If a candidate is openly threatened this way, one can imagine the state of the common people in the state. We will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission about this incident."

Voters in Jangipur queued up early on Tuesday to cast their votes as polling commenced at 7 am. However, incidents of political violence, like the scuffle involving Ghosh, are not uncommon in Murshidabad during elections. The district has witnessed clashes and fatalities in every panchayat poll since 2003.

The Jangipur constituency is witnessing a closely contested battle, with Dhananjay Ghosh of the BJP facing off against Khalilur Rahaman of the TMC and Murtoja Hossain Bokul of the Congress. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, TMC secured 34 seats in West Bengal, while the BJP managed only 2. However, in the 2019 elections, BJP saw a significant rise, winning 18 seats compared to TMC's 22, indicating a changing political landscape.