The BJP rejected the allegations. Meghnad Pal, the party’s district general secretary, said he had no information about the incident and that inquiries were being made.
Pralay Pal, vice-president of the BJP’s Tamluk organisational district, called the Congress allegations baseless. “You cannot expect to be in the opposition without facing beatings, legal cases or jail time. We have gone through all of that, yet we never abandoned the street-level struggle. They do not stay with the public all year round, which is why the public beat them up. The BJP cannot be held responsible for this.”
The incident comes as Pradhan remains in judicial custody, leaving Congress to campaign without its candidate on the ground. Pradhan was arrested on 18 September in connection with cases dating back to the 2007 anti-land acquisition agitation in Nandigram, shortly after Mamata Banerjee announced that her TMC faction would support him after its own candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew her nomination.
The legal battle over Pradhan’s release has continued in the Calcutta High Court. A division bench on 25 September set aside relief granted to him by a single bench and directed him to seek regular bail. He remains in judicial custody, with the court’s proceedings spread across multiple cases.
The contest has also unfolded against a wider confrontation over the Election Commission and electoral rolls. Congress workers have held protests across West Bengal demanding the arrest and resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities and ‘vote theft’ in the electoral process. Demonstrations were held in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur, with a delegation also submitting a memorandum to the Kanthi subdivisional officer.
With voting scheduled for 6 October and campaigning set to end on 4 October, the attack on the Congress campaign vehicle adds to the political tension in a constituency that has long been one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in West Bengal.
