New Delhi: bjp Leader Agnimitra Paul’s car was allegedly vandalized in a stone-pelting incident on Wednesday after she left a polling station in Asansol during voting.The video shows unidentified people allegedly pelting stones at her moving car in Burnpur’s Rahmat Nagar area, causing serious damage to the rear of the car. The leader later claimed this was done intentionally to influence the electoral process and said she had lodged a complaint with the Hirapur police station.“As we were walking out of the polling station in Asansol Rahmat Nagar, stones were thrown at my moving car. It was clear who was behind it. This was an effort to influence the election. We have lodged a complaint about it,” she told reporters.She claimed she was not injured, while her secretary, who was sitting in the back, suffered minor injuries in the incident.“My car was attacked and vandalized. A big stone was thrown at my car when I was going to the minority area of Rahmat Nagar. The entire rear part of the car was destroyed and the glass was completely shattered. By the grace of God, neither I nor my security personnel were injured. However, my secretary who was sitting in the back was slightly injured. This cannot be tolerated as such incidents keep happening. You can easily understand who is behind this and who has good relations with the minorities…” Paul, who hails from Asansol South Assembly constituency, also voted in the first phase of polling and expressed confidence in the BJP’s performance, saying she believed voters in West Bengal would support the party.Click here to view West Bengal Assembly Elections live blog updates “We are sure that the people of Bengal will vote for the BJP… They are determined to remove the TMC as the TMC is a disgrace to the chief minister’s chair and the electorate,” she told ANI in an interview.She called the election a “war to save Bengal”, adding that the focus should be on jobs and development rather than divisive politics. “This is a war to save Bengal. We don’t want Hindu-Muslim politics. We want to provide jobs to the youth and get 4 million people to migrate back from here,” she said. She also launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying she had “failed as chief minister” and should step down. “You (Mamata Banerjee) have failed as chief minister and you must vacate this seat,” she said. In a crucial contest, Asansol South Assembly constituency is witnessing a high-profile battle with Agnimitra Paul facing Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Tapas Banerjee, the sitting MP from Raniganj who had previously contested from 2011 to 2021 Represented Asansol South during the year.
Paul, who is also the vice-president of the West Bengal unit of the BJP, remains one of the party’s prominent faces in the region. She is seeking to hold on to her seat amid a tight race in the industrial belt.Asansol Lok Sabha constituency covering Pandabeswar, Raniganj, Jamuria, Asansol South, Asansol North, Kurti and Barabani is considered politically important due to its strong presence in the industrial and mining belt of West Bengal.Asansol is part of the Asansol-Durgapur Industrial Area and is famous for its coal and steel industries, making it one of the most economically important regions in the state.In West Bengal, political parties are vying for 294 assembly seats. According to the Election Commission, the first phase covers 152 constituencies and the second phase includes 142 seats. A total of 1,478 candidates are competing in this phase.
