BJP Youth Leader Attacked In Bengal, Ear Cut Off Ahead Of Voting; Party Sees TMC Hand

Kolkata: In a shocking incident, BJP Yuva Morcha booth secretary Subrata Bagh was allegedly attacked by TMC workers with an axe in West Bengal's East Midnapore district, according to sources. His ear has also been chopped, local sources confirmed. Narrating the incident, local eyewitnesses claimed that Bagh moved his head at the last moment and the chopper fell on his ear.

The incident took place at the Ilaspur booth, that falls under Bhagabanpur 1 block at 10:30 pm on Tuesday. Bagh's older brother Subhankar was also attacked. Soon after the attack, Subrata was rushed to the local primary health center and was further admitted to the Tamluk hospital as his condition worsened.

East Midnapore, which will be going to polls on May 25, is witnessing a heated battle between former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijeet Gangopadhyay and TMC's Debangshu Bhattacharya from Tamluk. The battle is also seen as a prestige battle between 'bhumi putra' Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. During the 2021 Assembly elections, Mamata had challenged Suvendu but lost in a fiercely-fought battle in East Midnapore's Nandigram seat.

TMC faces an uphill task to retain Tamluk Lok Sabha seat for the first time since the Adhikaris left the party. Even though the battle is between Abhijeet and Debangshu on paper, it is seen as a prestige fight between Mamata and her former protege. With both Suvendu and Mamata throwing their weight behind the respective candidates, the campaigning is bound to heat up as the polling date nears.

Even though Tamluk has voted for TMC since 2009, this time it will be different with the Adhikari brothers switching over to BJP. Once seen as Mamata's bastion that helped her decimate the Left riding on the Nandigram wave, BJP sees a golden opportunity to breach TMC's fortress with the Adhikaris by their side this time around.