Kirti Azad on Sunday got a taste of the “enthusiasm” of Trinamul Congress workers in Bengal during his election campaign, when two rival factions in the party started scuffling in front of him over who would first garland him.

The 65-year-old the former World Cup-winning cricketer initially tried to pacify the two sparring groups, but in vain. He got pushed away, said sources.

Some party leaders had to rescue him from the scene. He was taken to a nearby Kali temple where he sat, visibly upset.

Later, he offered puja at the Kali temple, praying: “Let good sense prevail”.

The Trinamul candidate for the Burdwan-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat was campaigning at Amrai locality of Durgapur town under Ward 12 today.

Trouble started around 10am when a group of Trinamul trade union workers led by Sheikh Sahabuddin, accompanying Azad, reached Amrai. Another group of party leaders led by Aminur Rahman, a known rival of Sahabuddin, were standing with garlands to felicitate Azad.

As Azad reached, supporters of Rahman and Sahabuddin both demanded to garland the candidate first. They got involved in an argument over the matter and started scuffling. Azad tried to pacify them initially but they pushed him away and got involved in a mini-clash.

Later, policemen present at the spot and senior party leader Prabhat Chatterjee took control of the situation but by then Azad was seen sitting on the staircase of the temple with both his hands on his head, visibly shaken.

However, later he told journalists that he was happy seeing the enthusiasm of his party workers. “There was no scuffle but over enthusiasm of the party workers. All were trying to felicitate me. They all love Mamata Banerjee,” said Azad.

The BJP, which tagged Azad as an “outsider”, took the incident as an opportunity to mock Trinamul.

“We hope Kirti Azad has now started realising what Trinamul and its workers are doing. He is an outsider. He must have realised the reality of Durgapur as well as Bengal,” said Lakkhan Ghorui, BJP MLA from Durgapur.

Trinamul sources said Sahabuddin and Rahman were at loggerheads and had become rivals over taking control of the contract workers union at Durgapur Steel Plant.

“The rivalry between them increased after Sahabuddin got control of the union recently. They were actually trying to show their strength in front of Azad,” said a Trinamul insider.

Sources said the party leadership in Durgapur has cautioned both factions not to repeat such incidents.

Contacted, Sahabuddin later said that he would put the matter in front of the party higher-ups.

Rahman refused to comment.