Two factions of the BJP’s Burdwan leadership clashed in front of the party’s district headquarters on Thursday, the BJP’s foundation day, an embarrassment for the party on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi upheld its value system and the selflessness of its workers.

On Thursday, as BJP leaders across the country and the state were busy celebrating Hanuman Jayanti and the 44th foundation day of the party, followers of the BJP’s former Burdwan unit vice-president Shyamal Roy clashed with Pintu Sam, chief of the party’s district unit’s youth wing, and his supporters.

The skirmishes erupted after the Roy group locked the main gate of the party office.

As the feud began in front of the party’s Burdwan district headquarters, a little over 1,400km away, Modi was equating the spirit of the BJP and its workers with the selflessness of lord Hanuman.

“It is such an embarrassment for us. Our tallest leader is preaching to us the virtues of selflessness, while our own leaders are bringing the factional feud to the streets,” a state BJP office-bearer said.

Thursday’s skirmish was a result of unrest that has been brewing in BJP’s Burdwan unit for over a month.

Roy was sent a show-cause notice over facilitating anti-party activities on February 24. He has been publicly critical of the Burdwan unit chief Abhijit Tah as well as Sam.

However, the show-cause notice couldn’t dissuade Roy. Reportedly, he started attacking the district chief and other functionaries on social media. As a result, he got marching orders from the party after a month.

On Thursday, Roy’s followers locked Sam and his supporters inside the district headquarters. Later, the lock was broken using bricks and iron rods. Sam was seen charging at the Roy faction protesting outside the party office. Soon, a makeshift arrangement set up in front of the office by the dissidents — Roy and his followers — was ransacked.

“If one wishes to remain in the party, one has to abide by the rules,” Sam told journalists.

The same party office had been witness to vandalism over nominations ahead of the 2021 assembly polls.

Asked about the incident, BJP’s state chief Sukanta Majumdar said that he was unaware of the development and would have to get details to comment on it.

After that, multiple phone calls to Tah remained unanswered.

A member of the group of dissidents, Raju Patra, later alleged that Tah was “ineligible and inactive” as a leader. “The activities of the party here are getting affected because of him,” Patra said.

To divert the focus from the inner feud, sources close to Tah tried to blame Trinamul for Thursday’s skirmishes, which Bengal’s ruling party denied.

That the Bengal unit of the saffron camp is divided into multiple and opposing camps is an open secret.

The top three leaders of the BJP state unit — Majumdar, the leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and national vice-president Dilip Ghosh — have their own followers, who are often at odds with each other.