Kolkata: Income tax officials on Friday raided Mamata Banerjee’s poll nomination proposer, Miraj Shah, and TMC candidate Debashis Kumar, prompting the Bengal CM to call BJP “spineless cowards”.Shah was Banerjee’s proposer in Kolkata’s Bhowanipore. Kumar is seeking re-election from Rashbehari, a high-profile constituency nearby.The I-T raids mark a significant escalation of the face-off between the Centre and the Banerjee-led TMC govt less than a week before the state votes in the first phase on April 23. “BJP will have to answer for this. You cannot play a dirty game. Ballots, not bullets, win polls,” Banerjee said, calling the raids a “shameless and brazen act” by those who “cannot fight from the front”.The raids on the Elgin Road residence of businessman Shah, also a trustee of one of the state’s biggest private educational institutions, became a talking point. But the bigger showdown unfolded at Kumar’s home.A team of I-T officers reached Kumar’s Manoharpukur Road residence at 5am. According to local residents, central force jawans accompanying the I-T officers jumped over the locked gate to knock on the door. The I-T officials followed and started a search-and-interrogation session that lasted nearly 15 hours.While one I-T team scoured Kumar’s home, another reach-ed his election office a few me-tres away. A third team went to his mother-in-law’s flat in the neighbourhood. A fourth reached a TMC office nearby and a fifth raided the house of Kumar Saha, a close associate.“I don’t know what they found. All I know is I lost a day of campaigning. The outcome of these raids will be known on May 4. This will only help me,” Kumar said after the I-T team left around 8pm.ED had earlier questioned him twice in a land grab and illegal construction case.A lawyer who arrived at the house was denied entry. Kumar had a Friday deadline to submit poll-related expenditure. But his agent, Rakesh Kamath, who came to get docum-ents signed was also stopped. Soon, TMC workers arrived and started protesting. By no-on, locals had joined the them.Sensing the situation was getting tense, Kumar sent out instructions that there should be no trouble.“The I-T officers have the right to interrogate politicians, not harass them. I won’t leave till Kumar is freed from their clutches,” said Jayanta Manna, his childhood friend. Neighbours also waited for the I-T officers to exit. “This is simply harassment,” said Supriti Maitra, a model who stays close by.Kolkata: Income tax officials on Friday raided Mamata Banerjee’s poll nomination proposer, Miraj Shah, and TMC candidate Debashis Kumar, prompting the Bengal CM to call BJP “spineless cowards”.Shah was Banerjee’s proposer in Kolkata’s Bhowanipore. Kumar is seeking re-election from Rashbehari, a high-profile constituency nearby.The I-T raids mark a significant escalation of the face-off between the Centre and the Banerjee-led TMC govt less than a week before the state votes in the first phase on April 23. “BJP will have to answer for this. You cannot play a dirty game. Ballots, not bullets, win polls,” Banerjee said, calling the raids a “shameless and brazen act” by those who “cannot fight from the front”.The raids on the Elgin Road residence of businessman Shah, also a trustee of one of the state’s biggest private educational institutions, became a talking point. But the bigger showdown unfolded at Kumar’s home.A team of I-T officers reached Kumar’s Manoharpukur Road residence at 5am. According to local residents, central force jawans accompanying the I-T officers jumped over the locked gate to knock on the door. The I-T officials followed and started a search-and-interrogation session that lasted nearly 15 hours.While one I-T team scoured Kumar’s home, another reach-ed his election office a few me-tres away. A third team went to his mother-in-law’s flat in the neighbourhood. A fourth reached a TMC office nearby and a fifth raided the house of Kumar Saha, a close associate.“I don’t know what they found. All I know is I lost a day of campaigning. The outcome of these raids will be known on May 4. This will only help me,” Kumar said after the I-T team left around 8pm.ED had earlier questioned him twice in a land grab and illegal construction case.A lawyer who arrived at the house was denied entry. Kumar had a Friday deadline to submit poll-related expenditure. But his agent, Rakesh Kamath, who came to get docum-ents signed was also stopped. Soon, TMC workers arrived and started protesting. By no-on, locals had joined the them.Sensing the situation was getting tense, Kumar sent out instructions that there should be no trouble.“The I-T officers have the right to interrogate politicians, not harass them. I won’t leave till Kumar is freed from their clutches,” said Jayanta Manna, his childhood friend. Neighbours also waited for the I-T officers to exit. “This is simply harassment,” said Supriti Maitra, a model who stays close by.