LUCKNOW, July 22 -- Tension prevailed outside the Uttar Pradesh Congress headquarters in Lucknow on Wednesday as Congress workers repeatedly clashed with police after the party office was turned into a virtual fortress with a three-layer security barricade and around 150 police personnel deployed from the main gate to the adjoining road.

Congress workers, including women, gathered at the office carrying sticks, saying they were prepared to counter a protest march announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The first confrontation erupted around 12.30 pm when Congress workers objected to barricades being placed close to the office gate and pushed them back. The Congress had announced a march to the chief minister's official residence i...