Amidst polling in Bhabanipur assembly seat in Kolkata on Thursday, footballer-turned-politician Kalyan Chaubey of the Bharatiya Janata Party said he was allegedly heckled and his car ransacked by a group of Trinamool Congress supporters around 2pm when he was moving towards booth number 170 from booth number 157.
Chaubey told News18, “Since Section 144 is imposed in the area, I have decided to travel with one guard and my driver. When I was travelling towards booth number 170, suddenly near Paddapukur Road area, a group of youths in six to seven motorcycles intercepted my car and attacked us with iron rods and stones.”
He said, “I was scared and locked my car from inside as they were armed and looking furious. It seems that they came with an intention to kill me. My driver could not accelerate as there was traffic in the area. Somehow, we managed to save our lives.”
When asked who could be behind the attack, Chaubey said, “It seems that they all were TMC supporters. They attacked me because I am a BJP leader and they are scared that if BJP wins the Bhabanipur seat then they will be in trouble. I would like to request the Election Commission to look into the matter. I have already complained about the matter to the poll body.”
Meanwhile, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Basu told News18 that he has received a complaint from Chaubey and when the inquiry was made it was found that “it was not a political attack and his car was attacked over road rage.” “His (Kalyan Chaubey) car was hit by a motorcycle and after that both the parties had an argument. In the scuffle, his car was attacked. It was not a political attack.”
BJP MP Arjun Singh, who has been made the party in charge of Bhabanipur assembly bypolls, demanded immediate action against the perpetrators. “It is unfortunate that despite elaborate security arrangements, our leader Kalyan Chaubey was attacked. We are hopeful that the EC will take action,” Singh said.
Responding to the allegations, TMC leader Tapas Roy said, “Polling is underway peacefully in the area. All the allegations of the BJP leader are false and fabricated. They are making some noise because they know that they are going to lose the seat by a huge margin.”
Meanwhile, it was found that Kalyan Chaubey – despite being a BJP leader – went to Bhabanipur as the election agent of Hindustan Awami Morcha candidate Satadru Roy. When asked, Chaubey failed to clarify.
Nearly 54% voter turnout was reported by 5pm in Bhabanipur bypoll, which will decide the fate of Mamata Banerjee to retain her position as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. The counting of votes will be held on October 3.
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