BJP Suspends Party Leader Who Contested Against Abhishek Banerjee

The BJP, on Wednesday, issued a show-cause notice to Abhijit Das a.k.a. Bobby, who was the party candidate from Diamond Harbour against Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. Mr Das's membership in the party has also been temporarily suspended.

State BJP unit insiders said that on Tuesday, while the party's central fact-finding team was visiting different pockets at Diamond Harbour which were hit by post-poll violence, they faced protests by a section of local workers.

The protesters claimed that the party leadership had neglected the plight of the party workers who have become homeless since the counting process ended on June 4.

"We have come to know that the protesters were also close confidants of Das. So he has been issued a show-cause notice where he has been asked to give a reply within the next seven days. Till further orders from the high command his membership from the party has also been temporarily terminated," said a state committee member of BJP.

The party's state president in West Bengal and Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar has also confirmed the development and said that action has been initiated against Mr Das on disciplinary grounds. However, till the time the report was filed, there was no reaction from Das in the matter.

The central fact-finding team, comprising party Lok Sabha member and former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, former director general of police of Uttar Pradesh and current Rajya Sabha member Brijlal and the party's member of the Upper House in Parliament, Kabita Patidar, reached Kolkata on Sunday evening.

For the last two days, they have toured different pockets at Cooch Behar, Baruipur and Diamond Harbour interacting with the victims of post-poll violence.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)