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As many as fourteen motor bikes with registration number plates bearing Bihar initials reached Malda on Sunday morning, igniting political tussle in the Bengal district.
Tensions escalated in Malda’s Englishbazar area after several such motorcycles arrived at a local office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as Bengal is steadfastly gearing for the upcoming Assembly elections. The development has prompted allegations of pre-poll intimidation from the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Local TMC leaders suggested that the motocycles are brought to support BJP workers from Bihar to create commotion during the polls and intimidate TMC party workers.
According to sources, a large four-wheeler transported around 14 motorcycles to the BJP’s Shyama Prasad Bhavan office in Malda town. BJP leaders said the bikes were brought in to assist party workers in campaigning across different parts of the district as election preparations intensify. The bikes are currently stationed at the district BJP office in Puratoli area in Englishbazar.
However, district Trinamool Congress president Rahim Boxi alleged that the motorcycles were brought from Bihar to create unrest and carry out intimidation during the election period. “It has come to our notice that there are trucks laden with motorbikes bearing Bihar registration that have come to Malda. There are fourteen such bikes.” He claimed that similar efforts are being made to disrupt the electoral atmosphere and said the matter would be reported to the police, adding that “these are not and there are more”. He urged local police to intervene in the matter and probe into the matter.
Responding to the allegations, BJP’s South Malda organisational district president Ajay Ganguly stated that the motorcycles were brought solely for campaign purposes. He added that similar arrangements had been made during previous elections to facilitate party outreach across the district. “These bikes are registered are under the BJP party’s name and have earlier been used in Delhi and Bihar elections. We use this to reach remote areas for campaigning,” Ganguly said.
