NYC pol’s aide allegedly smacks staffer from rival campaign in face, gets arrested

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Now that’s an October surprise!

Two dueling state senate campaign volunteers were vying for votes at booths in Brooklyn when one of the women allegedly smacked the other so hard she fell over, sources said Wednesday.

The alleged attacker, Liu Zhen, 73 — an aide for Brooklyn Republican state Sen. Steve Chan — was arrested and charged with assault in the third degree for allegedly hitting a volunteer for Democratic opponent, Larry He, in the face Tuesday, sources told The Post.

“She definitely shouldn’t have done that,” Chan said.

“I suspended her for the time being.”

She was given a desk appearance ticket and released, sources told The Post.

The competing campaigners were working at tables about 50 feet apart along the busy 86th Street in Bensonhurst, across from the controversial site of a planned homeless shelter where protests have raged in recent months.

The clash unfolded when Zhen walked over to rival He’s campaign table and allegedly attacked one of his campaigners.

A video shows a woman, who appeared to be Zhen, reaching over a table to swipe at one of He’s campaign volunteers.

Chan, a retired police sergeant who is seeking re-election to a second term, is later seen on the video talking to a police officer by a squad car.

He said he accompanied Zhen to the police car.

The GOP incumbent said it was wrong for his campaign volunteer to walk over to his rival’s election table — but claimed the accusation of an assault was false, and that the fall was staged.

“It was a setup. [Zhen] didn’t push hard enough for someone to fall. The fall was staged. She didn’t hurt anyone,” the senator said.

Politics can get rough in southern Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Councilwoman Susan Zhuang, a Democrat who is backing He, allegedly bit an NYPD detective during an out of control protest at the planned homeless shelter site.

Assault charges against her were dropped after she completed a restorative justice program.

The He campaign declined to comment.