Supporters of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha beat up a group of protesters who were waving black flags at the sitting BJP MP from Patna Sahib in Patna on Friday.
Sinha was on his way to file his nomination papers as the BJP candidate from the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency when the incident took place near Gandhi Maidan.
Voting for Patna Sahib will be held on April 17.
A day earlier, a group of people protesting against Sinha had been beaten up by his supporters outside the BJP's state headquarters in Patna on Thursday.
Bihar BJP president Mangal Pandey, who was accompanying Sinha in an open Willys jeep, said the protesters appeared to be workers and supporters of the ruling JD (U).
"Had the protesters stuck to just a black-flag demonstration, our workers would not have reacted. But they physically attacked our workers so that a media spectacle could be created," the state BJP chief told HT.
Leader of opposition in the Bihar assembly Nand Kishore Yadav, who was also accompanying Sinha, said the protesters were the same people who had created a ruckus outside the BJP office on Thursday.
"I have identified one of their leaders. He runs an NGO in Patna city and is close to the JD (U) leadership. This so-called protest was staged to embarrass the BJP," said Yadav, the sitting MLA from the Patna Saheb assembly constituency.
{{/usCountry}}"I have identified one of their leaders. He runs an NGO in Patna city and is close to the JD (U) leadership. This so-called protest was staged to embarrass the BJP," said Yadav, the sitting MLA from the Patna Saheb assembly constituency.
{{/usCountry}}He said the BJP would nonetheless win the Patna Saheb seat with an emphatic majority.
Sinha had reached Patna on Thursday with his wife Poonam and son Luv.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, he said there were no differences within the party over his candidature.
"I am thankful to the central and state party leadership for naming me as the candidate once again," Sinha had said.