Bhuj: Chaos erupted at the Bhuj Taluka Panchayat office on Wednesday, the final day of candidate withdrawals for the Gujarat local body elections. A physical confrontation broke out between the police and Congress workers after Pushpaben Bhudia, the Congress candidate for the Sukhpar-2 seat, withdrew her nomination while under police protection.

The situation turned volatile when the police locked the doors of the Taluka Panchayat office, prompting agitated Congress workers to raise slogans such as “Stop the murder of democracy.” Congress leaders and workers alleged that the police were acting as the “B-team” of the BJP and working at the behest of the ruling party to force candidate withdrawals.

During the scuffle and pushing that ensued, a female police officer was reportedly injured. Following the incident, the Bhuj A-Division police filed a complaint against 15 to 20 Congress workers and leaders, including H.S. Ahir, Ramesh Garwa, and Lakhaaji Sodha, for obstructing official duty.

In response, a local Congress leader condemned the police action as “highly reprehensible” and claimed that the FIR was fabricated to break the party’s morale. The Congress further asserted that the female officer was not touched by workers but fell on her own, a claim the leader said could be verified through media presence and CCTV footage at the scene. DeshGujarat