BJP candidate Roopa Ganguly inside a polling booth during 4th phase of assembly elections in Howrah today.
Highlights
- BJP's Roopa Ganguly accused of pushing woman at polling booth in Howrah
- Ms Ganguly denies the charges, insists she was pushed by 'TMC goons'
- Fourth round of assembly polls being held in West Bengal today
On voting day in Bengal, Roopa Ganguly of the BJP was caught on camera in her constituency slapping a woman supporter of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. The party has filed a police complaint against Ms Ganguly, actor-turned-politician renowned for her portrayal of Draupadi in the blockbuster TV hit, Mahabharata.
"Trinamool goons pushed me when I went to check on complaints from voters at various booths. They are goons and they are levelling false allegations against me," Ms Ganguly told NDTV. She was then seen angrily arguing with Trinamool worker inside the polling station
The clash took place at Howrah near Kolkata, where Ms Ganguly is contesting the election against Trinamool's Laxmi Ratan Shukla, a former cricketer. "Roopa Ganguly attacked our party worker at a polling booth and we are registering a complaint with the election commission," Mr Shukla told NDTV.
Bengal's elections are being held on seven days- today is the fourth day of voting. Results will be declared on May 19 along with those from Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
As journalists followed the BJP candidate on her tour across the constituency, Ms Ganguly hopped on to the bike of a party supporter and rode pillion for a while, providing a strong photo-op. She accused men from Ms Banerjee's party of "rampant booth capturing" and trying to intimidate voters into choosing their candidates.
Last week, women activists were fiercely critical of Trinnamool leader Rezzak Mollah who made abysmally misogynistic remarks about Ms Ganguly. He issued a public apology.