The BJP has issued a show-cause notice and temporarily suspended Abhijit Das (Bobby), the defeated BJP MP candidate from Diamond Harbour, where Abhishek Banerjee was the winner. The decision came after BJP’s fact-finding team faced protests in Diamond Harbour.

This team, led by former Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb, was in West Bengal to investigate post-poll violence. On Tuesday, some displaced BJP workers protested against the party’s leadership in Diamond Harbour, causing discomfort for the state BJP.

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Abhijit Das, a long-time BJP worker in South 24-Parganas, who has contested several elections under the party’s symbol, was accused of being absent from an important meeting, not allowing post-poll violence victims to attend the meeting, causing the central leadership to be encircled by party workers, making unethical comments and creating disorder at the district office. The state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, through the party’s disciplinary committee head Pratap Banerjee, issued the show-cause letter to Abhijit, demanding an explanation within seven days and stating that he is temporarily suspended until further notice.

Within the BJP some insiders claimed that issues began on the day of the seventh phase of voting in Diamond Harbour, when Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari demanded re-election in about 400 booths in Falta. However, state BJP leaders did not follow up on this demand, leading to Abhijit’s dissatisfaction. Additionally, Abhijit had repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of the district BJP President Abhijit Sardar and financial issues. These grievances seemed to culminate in Tuesday’s events when central leaders visited Amtala to investigate post-poll violence but allegedly did not meet with displaced workers sheltering at Abhijit’s home.

Some of these displaced workers then blocked Biplab’s car, expressing their anger. Despite this, the central team reportedly did not visit their shelter, leading to further protests where the local BJP office was locked by some of the displaced workers.

Abhijit Das stated, “I have not received any letter yet, neither by email nor by hand. I will respond once I receive the letter.” Notably, Abhijit had attended the meeting at the BJP’s Salt Lake office regarding post-poll violence.