Kolkata, 14 Mar 

Clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters in central Kolkata on Saturday, barely half an hour before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at the Brigade Parade Ground, leaving a police officer and a leader of the saffron party injured, officials said.

Allegations also surfaced that stones were thrown at the residence of West Bengal minister Shashi Panja in the Girish Park area.

The violence took place around 5km from the rally venue as BJP supporters were marching towards the Brigade Parade Ground to attend the prime minister’s meeting, which marks the culmination of the party’s statewide ‘Parivartan Yatra’ ahead of the Assembly elections.

According to eyewitnesses, supporters of both parties allegedly threw stones at each other and raised slogans, triggering tension in the busy locality.

The officer-in-charge of Bowbazar police station, Bappaditya Naskar, was injured while trying to control the situation, police sources said.

The BJP also claimed that its north Kolkata district president, Tamaghno Ghosh, and several party workers were injured in the clashes.

Ghosh was later taken to a hospital for treatment, party leaders said.

BJP leaders alleged that their supporters were attacked without provocation while heading towards the rally venue.

"Stones were thrown at us without any provocation. Abuses were also hurled at us," a BJP activist told a Bengali news channel.

The party further alleged that several vehicles, including buses carrying supporters to the rally, were damaged in the clashes.

However, TMC workers denied the allegations and claimed that BJP supporters first attacked Panja's residence while passing through the Girish Park area on their way to the Brigade rally.

Panja claimed that BJP supporters had targeted her residence and damaged window panes.

"BJP goons carried out the attack. Buses heading to the Brigade rally were carrying bricks, glass bottles, and bombs. They attacked my house on Girish Park main road," the minister alleged.

She claimed that trouble began after saffron party supporters tore down posters reading "Boycott BJP" put up in the area.

According to Panja, when TMC workers attempted to put up the posters again, BJP supporters got down from buses and allegedly assaulted them, following which stones were thrown towards her house, and window panes were damaged.

Rejecting the allegations, BJP leaders claimed that TMC activists pelted stones at their rallyists and buses when they were passing through the area.

Some BJP leaders also alleged that the police initially remained "inactive" as the situation escalated.

Police later rushed a large contingent to the spot and brought the situation under control, dispersing the clashing groups.

As tension escalated in the locality, many shopkeepers hurriedly lowered their shutters.

The clashes occurred shortly before Modi's rally at the Brigade Parade Ground, where the prime minister is scheduled to address a massive gathering and unveil development projects worth around Rs 18,680 crore.

The rally marks the culmination of the BJP's month-long 'Parivartan Yatra', which the party launched across West Bengal to mobilise support and sharpen its campaign against the ruling TMC ahead of the Assembly elections.

Political observers said the clashes underscore the intense political polarisation in the state as both the BJP and the TMC seek to consolidate their support base in the run-up to the polls.

The BJP, which had emerged as the principal challenger to the TMC in the 2021 Assembly elections, has been attempting to revive its organisational momentum in the state through mass mobilisation campaigns and high-profile rallies by central leaders.

The ruling TMC, on the other hand, has been seeking to project the BJP's political campaigns as attempts to import "outsider politics" and disrupt peace in the State.