Hooghy, 07 April (H.S.): Tension gripped Chandannagar on Tuesday as supporters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came face-to-face outside the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) office during the nomination process. Police and central forces had to intervene to bring the situation under control.

As per information, BJP supporters were gathered on one side while TMC supporters were on the other. The atmosphere turned charged with slogans of “Jai Bangla” and “Jai Shri Ram,” as both sides engaged in aggressive sloganeering and moved towards each other, escalating tensions. The police quickly stepped in to manage the situation.

It was reported that candidates including TMC’s Ramendu Singh Roy from Tarakeswar, BJP’s Madhumita Ghosh from Haripal, Arup Kumar Das from Singur, and BJP’s Santu Pan from Tarakeswar had arrived at the SDO office to file their nominations. Shortly after Santu Pan left the premises, the situation suddenly turned tense as supporters of both parties confronted each other.

As per Election Commission guidelines, unlawful gatherings near nomination centres are prohibited. Questions have been raised over how such large groups from both sides managed to assemble near the SDO office.

However, the presence of a heavy police force and central security personnel prevented any major untoward incident. Sloganeering continued for some time before additional forces arrived and dispersed the supporters in different directions.

Later, BJP supporters gathered near Ranighat in Chandannagar, while TMC supporters assembled in the Urdu Bazar area, continuing their sloganeering. Authorities subsequently barricaded the area around the SDO office and deployed central forces to maintain law and order.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey