BJP workers forcibly occupying polling booths and attacking TMC activists: Mamata Banerjee

Addressing a public meeting here, Banerjee said her party's nominee in Arambagh, Sujata Mondal, was chased and hit on head near a polling booth by saffron party workers.

“They also hit another candidate in Khanakul. In Canning East, security forces prevented our nominee Shaukat Mollah from entering a booth. There had been numerous such instances of attack on our candidates, party workers across the state," the TMC supremo alleged.

Banerjee accused the BJP of injuring her to stop her from campaigning but added that she would win the elections “with one foot” and win Delhi in future “with two feet”.

The chief minister had suffered a leg injury on March 10 on the campaign trail in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.

The TMC supremo lashed out at the Indian Secular Front (ISF) formed by Furfura Sharif cleric Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui.

The ISF, which is contesting the election as part of the United Front alliance along with the Left Front and the Congress, was “more dangerous than a cobra,” the chief minister said.

She said, “So many jawans were killed by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh but unfortunately our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are busy in ‘dangabazi (rioting)’ and dividing Bengal,”

The TMC supremo said, “I will not allow ‘Gujaratis’ to rule Bengal because Bengal will be governed by a Bengali and not by any Gujarati.”

In a fresh allegation against the central forces, Banerjee said the blatant misuse of Central forces was continuing unabated, even as around 15 per cent of voters cast their vote in the first two hours.

Taking to her handle, Ms Banerjee said, “The blatant misuse of Central forces continues unabated. Despite us repeatedly raising this issue, @ECISVEEP continues to be a mute spectator while men in uniform are being misused at several places to openly intimidate TMC voters & influence many to vote in favour of one party.”