Sandeep Tajne had shared the stage with BSP chief Mayawati when she campaigned for the Nagpur candidate
A meeting in Maharashtra's Amravati to review the Bahujan Samajwadi Party's (BSP) dismal performance in the national election turned into a free-for-all with a senior leader being assaulted by angry party workers who attacked him with chairs. The incident, which was caught on camera, happened on Monday.
In the video, shot on a mobile phone, state-in-charge Sandeep Tajne is seen surrounded by a crowd of agitated party workers who are pulling at his shirt. As he manages to pull away from the mob and stumbles toward the door - while attempting to put his shirt back on - an unidentified man hits him, twice, with a plastic chair. The BSP leader somehow escapes, even as more chairs are thrown at him.
Mr Tajne had shared the stage with party chief Mayawati when she campaigned for the BSP candidate from Nagpur ahead of voting on April 11.
The BSP - which has a marginal presence in Maharashtra - saw its vote-share slip to below one per cent in the Lok Sabha polls, which is lower than its tally in 2014 polls.
Accordingly, the party leaders in the district had called for a review meeting of its performance. BSP party workers were upset with this result and vented their anger on their leaders accusing them of not working for the party.
In Amravati, the seat was won by an independent candidate backed by the Congress and the NCP. Navneet Kaur Rana, a former actress, defeated Shiv Sena strongman Anandrao Adsul who came second with margin between him and the winner being nearly 37,000 votes. While Ms Rana secured 49.95% of the votes, the BSP candidate in the seat, Arun Motiramji Wankhade managed to garner just over 12,000 votes which is slightly over 1% of the total votes. Navneet Kaur Rana is married to Ravi Rana, an independent politician, who is a second time MLA representing the Badnera Assembly Constituency in Amravati District of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra.