A day after a BJP delegation, led by Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, was allegedly attacked by a group of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) outside the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata, the BJP on Wednesday wrote to CEO Manoj Agarwal to identify the BLOs involved in the attack and take appropriate action against them.

Adhikari, meanwhile, moved the Calcutta High Court, seeking its nod to file a petition in the matter. The court allowed his counsel to file a petition on his behalf.

In the letter addressed to the CEO, BJP leader Shishir Bajoria alleged that “pro-TMC BLOs” outside hurled shoes at the party delegation. “We fail to understand how a big gathering of people declaring themselves as BLOs had surrounded the entrance while the police force remained spectators. What was shocking and simply unacceptable was that the crowd started hurling shoes at us and abused us in filthy language, including an attempt to physically attack us.”

The BJP urged the CEO to take up the matter with Kolkata Police “in the strongest possible terms as it was a serious security lapse”.

On Tuesday afternoon, Adhikari faced a protest from the members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee outside the CEO’s office. The protesters chanted “chor chor” (thief) and allegedly hurled a shoe at him.

The protesters, who identified themselves as pro-TMC BLOs, stated that they had been staging a sit-in outside the CEO’s office for several days but were denied entry, with the gates allegedly kept shut. Adhikari’s entry into the premises reportedly further fuelled their anger.

The demonstrators alleged that they view Adhikari as a “thief,” accusing him of not fulfilling his constitutional duties as Leader of the Opposition. They said the slogan-shouting formed part of their protest against him.