A Jan Suraaj worker was found dead in Tartar village of Bihar’s Patna district on Thursday after a clash between alleged supporters of the party and the ruling Janata Dal (United), The Indian Express reported.

The area is part of the Mokama Assembly constituency, which goes to polls on November 6.

The state is under the model code of conduct, with Assembly elections scheduled for November 6 and November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.

The incident took place between 3.30 pm and 3.40 pm, when the officer in charge of the Ghoswari police station received information about a fight breaking out between two groups near Tartar village, The Indian Express reported. The police reached the spot along with forces deployed for election area control.

An unidentified police official told the newspaper that officers found two to three four-wheelers parked near the site with broken windshields.

Inside one of the vehicles, the police discovered the body of Dularchand Yadav, the officer was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya K Sharma told PTI that the police had received information that a supporter of a candidate died during the campaign in Mokama.

“The exact cause of the incident is not known yet, as the body has not been handed over to the police,” PTI quoted Sharma as saying. “Whether he succumbed to bullet injuries or it was an accidental death can only be known when the police get the body.”

A heavy security force has been deployed in the area, Sharma added.

Jan Suraaj’s Mokama candidate Priyadarshi Piyush told the police that he was on his way for election campaigning when he encountered the JD(U)’s convoy between Tartar and Basavanchak villages, The Indian Express reported.

Piyush said that “as the two convoys came face to face, an altercation broke out, followed by stone throwing and physical assault”, according to an unidentified police officer.

JD(U)’s Mokama candidate Anant Singh was quoted as saying by The Telegraph that he and his supporters were meeting voters when the Jan Suraaj convoy allegedly began shouting slogans against them.

“I told my supporters not to respond, and we moved away,” The Telegraph quoted Singh as saying. “Some of my vehicles were behind us… [Rival convoy] started attacking our vehicles. I moved ahead with about 30 vehicles behind me and they attacked 10 of the vehicles at the rear. My supporters’ vehicles were vandalised.”

After the incident, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Opposition Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of “providing protection to criminals” during the Bihar elections.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

“How are people roaming free with guns during the campaign when the model code of conduct has already been imposed?” PTI quoted Yadav as saying. “The murder of Dularchand Yadav is a matter of serious concern. The incident puts a question mark on the law and order situation in the state.”

Jan Suraaj’s state chief Manoj Bharti said that the incident took place at the “behest of those who seek votes by instilling fear of ‘jungle raj’”, PTI reported.

He added: “This is an assault on our democratic rights. We strongly condemn the attack on the convoy of our Mokama Assembly poll candidate, Priyadarshi Piyush, and the killing of one of his supporters.”

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