West Bengal: Opposition panchayat candidates allege kidnap by TMC supporters

Kolkata: Four candidates who won the panchayat elections in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district alleged that they were kidnapped by supporters of the TMC, a charge denied by the state's ruling party.

TMC MLA of Canning Purba Saokat Molla claimed the three BJP candidates and a CPI(M)-backed Independent nominee wanted to join the TMC on their own, influenced by the development initiatives undertaken by the Mamata Banerjee government.

BJP nominees Puja Chhatui, Kamala Mandal and Sushanta Mandal, and Independent candidate Narayan Haldar of Krishnachandrapur panchayat in Mathurapur went missing on Thursday, their families alleged.

In a video, which went viral on social media on Saturday, they claimed that they were safe and staying at a location in Sundarban, and would return home when the panchayat's board is formed in mid-August. However, they returned home on Sunday.

After returning home, they told reporters that they were kidnapped and taken to a house in Sundarban.

"We were forced to sign a blank page, and also make that scripted video," Haldar said, adding that the kidnappers let them leave on Saturday night.

Senior CPIM leader Kanti Ganguly alleged that the TMC kidnapped the four candidates to form the board of the panchayat as it could not manage a majority in the elections, but it gave up sensing trouble.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said the turn events exposed TMC's "little faith" in democracy.

"TMC tried to capture the panchayat. But, alarmed by sustained media coverage about the incident, the TMC's leadership asked the district functionaries to release them," he claimed.

TMC MLA Molla, however, claimed these four candidates wanted to join the ruling party but understanding that they would not be inducted, they cooked up the story.

TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "Why should the TMC be involved in such a practice? It is the hallmark of BJP in government formation in some states."