In the Indian state of West Bengal four people have been killed in clashes between rival parties. Three supporters of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party and a supporter of the Trinamool regional party have been killed by gunfire in the city of Sandeshkhali, police and local politicians said today. At least 18 more people were injured in the clashes that started yesterday.
In West Bengal, there has been repeated violence since the Indian parliamentary election that ended in mid-May. The BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also been able to massively increase their voting rights in the East Indian state in the course of their electoral victory after an aggressive election campaign. The Trinamool Congress party accuses Modi’s party of causing trouble in West Bengal.
Mutual finger-pointing
The two parties blamed each other for the recent escalation. Local BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said his party’s employees were shot dead when they protested that their flags and posters should be thrown away. Jyotipriyo Mullick of Trinamool said a follower had been attacked on the way to a party meeting and then shot dead.
Modis BJP scored its best ever result in the general election. The party won 303 seats, expanding its majority in the 543-seat parliament. The elections in the world’s largest democracy had spanned several weeks.
