The announcement of Trinamul Congress candidates sparked protests at several places in the state on Friday despite Mamata Banerjee trying her best to keep defectors to the BJP under pressure.

At Bhangar in South 24-Parganas, Trinamul leader Arabul Islam broke down while expressing his annoyance with the party for not declaring him as a candidate. Arabul’s supporters blocked a road and allegedly ransacked a Trinamul office to register their protest against the decision to field Rezaul Karim, who had contested as a CPM candidate from Birbhum in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“The party is close to my heart but today the party does not need me anymore. What I do next will depend on the advice of the people of Bhangar,” said Arabul.

Mamata, however, said those who had been left out would be accommodated in the Legislative Council that would be formed once Trinamul rode back to power.

Senior Trinamul leader and former deputy speaker Sonali Guha, and MLA from Birbhum’s Nalhati Moinuddin Shams, also broke into tears openly after being denied party tickets.

A section of Trinamul Congress supporters turned violent and blocked the Basirhat-Taki road for over an hour on Friday by setting tyres on fire for the denial of nomination to party leader A.T.M. Abdullah Ronny from the Basirhat North Assembly constituency.

At several places in the constituency, Trinamul workers erupted in protest after the leadership nominated turncoat MLA Rafikul Islam to fight the polls and left Ronny in the lurch.

In 2016, CPM’s Rafikul had defeated Ronny by 498. Rafikul had defected to Trinamul in 2020, four years after he had left Trinamul on being denied a ticket to contest the Assembly poll.

A Trinamul activist in Basirhat said: “It is unfortunate that the party preferred to choose at the expense of a loyalist like Ronny.”

Speaking to The Telegraph, Rafikul said: “This is a minor issue. I am hopeful that all party supporters will fight the polls unitedly.”

However, a large number of Trinamul supporters, including elected members of panchayat bodies, met Ronny and urged him to fight the poll as an Independent.

Additional reporting by Subhasish Chaudhuri