*Serra hit on head by object, but not wounded
*Scuffle is sign of more aggressive, competitive race
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Brazil&${esc.hash}39;s opposition presidential candidate Jose Serra was struck on the head by an object on Wednesday as his supporters scuffled with those of his ruling party rival during a campaign event.
Serra, 68, was not wounded by the projectile, which media reported was a roll of tape, and was able to resume his schedule in Rio de Janeiro after being given the all-clear by doctors.
The incident is a sign of how the contest between Serra of the centrist PSDB party and Dilma Rousseff of the left-leaning Workers&${esc.hash}39; Party is becoming more competitive and aggressive with less than two weeks to go before the Oct. 31 election.
Having trailed Rousseff by more than 20 percentage points in opinion polls before the Oct. 3 first round election, in which Rousseff just failed to win the majority needed for an outright win, Serra has closed the gap to as little as four points.
"This is the assault troop of the Workers&${esc.hash}39; Party," Serra said. "You remember the assault troop of the Nazis? This is typical of fascists."
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Full coverage of election: [ID:nBRAZIL]
Election Top News page: http://link.reuters.com/dux43p
Graphic on opinion polls: http://r.reuters.com/vet88p
Special report on Rousseff: http://link.reuters.com/fab25p
Political risks in Brazil: [ID:nRISKBR]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Serra, the former governor of Sao Paulo state, took refuge in a cosmetics store in the Campo Grande region on Rio&${esc.hash}39;s western outskirts as the rival groups scuffled outside.
"I was hugging Serra when he was hit by a roll of tape on the head," Paulo Cesar Gomez, an evangelical Christian pastor, was quoted as saying on the Globo news website.
Serra has been courting religious voters heavily since the first round, in which evangelical and Roman Catholic criticism of Rousseff&${esc.hash}39;s social views is believed to have cost her votes. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Jerry Norton)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
