BJP leaders on Tuesday accused the Trinamul Congress and police of organising attacks on the supporters of the saffron camp in Cooch Behar, a day after the police and district Trinamul leaders had said BJP supporters had perpetrated the violence in Burirhat of the district on Saturday.

While Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP president, alleged that Trinamul leaders were resorting to violence ahead of rural elections, Nisith Pramanik, the Union minister of state for home affairs, on the other hand, alleged that the police were acting in cahoots with Mamata Banerjee’s party.

“Trinamul leaders here should realise that they still have time to refrain from violence. Or else, they will find it tough to escape. The party is lagging behind support here in Cooch Behar and thus, the leaders are trying to foment tension to intimidate people. They are indulging in violence, demonstrating near the houses of our legislators, and putting pressure on our leaders and workers,” said Majumdar.

On Tuesday morning, he reached Cooch Behar and headed for Dinhata to meet some of the party workers and local leaders whose houses were attacked by suspected Trinamul supporters after the February 25 clash.

Pramanik, along with a number of district leaders, accompanied him. He visited places like Burirhat, Kalmati, and Sahebganj, spoke with the workers, and assured them all help. Pramanik, who is also the local MP, raised his voice against the police.

“When my convoy was attacked, I saw some people with policemen who were wearing slippers and mufflers. How can they be a part of the police force? We suspect they are Trinamul cadres and have joined the police to attack us. They can’t stop us from carrying out political activities,” he said.

After the incident, Trinamul leaders had come up with photos showing an armed person with his face covered, moving along with the central security force personnel who provide security to Pramanik. The police had also confirmed that three persons, who were in two vehicles of the convoy, were arrested with firearms and live cartridges.

“The MP is making an attempt to conceal the real facts. He should reply why armed miscreants were with him,” said Avijit De Bhowmik, the district Trinamul president of Cooch Behar. Over the past few months, the state Trinamul leadership, especially the party’s all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, is focusing on districts like Cooch Behar and Alipurduar which are known to be strongholds of the BJP.

The party is organizing a slew of political programmes to wither the saffron camp’s support base while simultaneously stoking sentiments of the Rajbanshi and the tribal population. “This has left BJP rattled and thus, the party is desperately trying to retain its base,” said an observer.

A senior functionary of Trinamul in the district said that their strategy to intensify political activities has started working. “Even today, when the state BJP president is visiting the district, two booth committee presidents of BJP have joined our party in Dinhata,” he said. Governor C.V. Ananda Bose had sought a report from the state’s home department on the attack on Pramanik’s convoy.