WATCH: Villagers throw stones at BJP’s Jhargram candidate Pranat Tudu, party blames ‘TMC goons’

During the sixth phase of polling on Saturday, BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Jhargram, Pranat Tudu, had to flee from the Mangalapota area of Garbeta in West Midnapore district after stones were thrown at him and his security personnel.

Dramatic footage showed security officers using shields to protect Pranat Tudu as people chased him, with one large stone narrowly missing a person. Amidst the chaos, more stones rained down, forcing Tudu, his security team, and some media personnel to run for cover.

Mamata Banerjee is murdering democracy in Bengal. Now, TMC goons attack BJP’s Jhargram (a Tribal seat) candidate and ABP Ananda’s crew. Despite attempts to preclude people from casting vote, West Bengal has one of the highest voter turnout across the country. People are voting to… pic.twitter.com/ZMdTPhxiYw

— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) May 25, 2024

Pranat Tudu has accused “Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons” of orchestrating the attack, claiming that two of his security personnel sustained head injuries and required hospitalization.

The TMC, however, alleged that the altercation began when Tudu’s security officers assaulted a woman waiting to vote, prompting a protest from the villagers.

In a post on X, Amit Malviya, the BJP’s Bengal co-in-charge, also blamed the TMC for the violence, asserting that the people are voting to “kick out” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party.

According to BJP sources, Pranat Tudu was on his way to polling booths in Garbeta after receiving reports that BJP agents were being barred from entering.

Also Read: EC releases data on number of votes cast in 5 phases of Lok Sabha elections

“All of a sudden, TMC goons who had blocked the roads started hurling bricks at my car. When my security personnel tried to intervene, they were injured. Two CISF jawans accompanying me received head injuries and had to be hospitalized,” Pranat Tudu told the media.

In contrast, the TMC argued that it was Tudu’s security team that incited the violence by attacking a woman voter. “The villagers got enraged and staged a protest,” a TMC leader stated.

The situation also escalated to the point where vehicles used by media personnel were vandalized by the crowd. Police have been deployed to the area to restore order, according to media reports.

The Jhargram Lok Sabha constituency is notably significant for the BJP, as it was one of 18 seats won by the party in West Bengal in the 2019 elections, a substantial increase from just two seats in the previous general elections. In 2019, BJP candidate Kunar Hembram narrowly defeated TMC’s Birbaha Saren by approximately 12,000 votes.

This election sees Pranat Tudu competing against Kalipada Soren of the Trinamool Congress and Sonamoni Murmu (Tudu) of the CPIM.