Rival political parties clash in Gorakhpur, several injured

Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Feb.5 (ANI): Several people sustained injuries after Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) activists traded blows in a violent scuffle in poll-bound Gorakhpur on Saturday.

The clash was triggered after BSP candidate Ram Bhuval Nishad allegedly assaulted television actress and Congress candidate Kajal Nishad, when the two rivals were canvassing in close proximity to each other.

According to Congress activists, BSP workers, led by Nishad, attacked Kajal's car and broke its windows with stones.

Stung by the BSP workers' brazen attack, Congress activists and supporters retaliated with fury. In the ensuing clashes, nearly a dozen people were injured, as per media reports.

Kajal staged a sit-in agitation on the town's main highway demanding strict action and punishment for her attackers.

"He (candidate of the provincial ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, Ram Bhuval Nishad) attacked me, Kajal Nishad. My car was moving on the road when he attacked me, and broke the window. The shattered glass severely cut my arm. He also assaulted my supporters. Till the time Ram Bhuval Nishad is not taken into arrest, till the time the local superintending officer is not suspended, neither I nor will my supporters get up from here," said Kajal Nishad, whose arms were severely bruised due to the shattered glass from her car's broken windows.

With elections in Uttar Pradesh scheduled to begin next week, contesting political parties go on a campaigning overdrive, with leaders leaving no stones unturned to garner maximum support in what is expected to be an intense battle royal.

Elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held through seven-phase polling in the months of February and March this year.

In the fray are the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, the BSP and the Samajwadi Party, besides several independent candidates and other regional factions. (ANI)