BJP
Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo quits politics
Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo on Saturday announced his retirement from Indian politics, barely a month after he was sacked as a federal Minister by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the mega Cabinet rejig.
"I'm leaving...farewell...," Supriyo wrote on Facebook. "If you want to do social work, you can do it without being in politics...let's organise myself a little first and then..."
The 50-year-old country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian from the eastern Indian state of West Bengal's Asansol constituency, however, made it clear that he would not join any other political party.
Read: Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's husband arrested
"Heard everyone's words -- father, (mother) wife, daughter, two dear friends...After hearing everything, I say that I am not going to any other party - #TMC, #Congress, #CPIM, nowhere...I am a one Team Player! Have always supported one team #MohunBagan...Have backed only BJP in West Bengal...That's it...I am going..." he wrote.
Supriyo joined politics -- and the BJP -- some seven years ago. He served as junior Urban Development Minister and Minister of State for Heavy Industries in the Modi government's first five-year tenure. He was made the junior Environment and Forest Minister after the BJP returned to power in 2019.
Read: Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar dies
Born Supriya Baral, he entered Bollywood as a playback singer in the mid-nineties and has sung for many films since then. He has also done playback singing in 11 Indian languages during his musical career.
Supriyo was among 13 federal Ministers who were dropped by Prime Minister Modi in the Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month -- some of the others being then Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar ruling BJP's choice for next Indian President?
Speculation is rife that veteran politician Sharad Pawar could be the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) choice for the post of India's President.
The presidential elections are due in India next year.
What has bolstered the rumours is Pawar's 50-minute meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's residence in the national capital on Saturday morning.
"Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sharad Pawar met PM Narendra Modi," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted, tagging a photo of the meeting.
READ: BJP Office set on fire in India’s West Bengal, party blames Trinamool
However, earlier this week, the 80-year-old chief of the regional Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) denied that he's a candidate for the post of President amid reported strains in the alliance ruling the western state of Maharashtra. Pawar's NCP is in the alliance.
"It is wrong to say that I am a candidate for the Presidential election," Pawar told the media on Wednesday.
Political pundits, however, claimed that Modi's BJP could well be keen on making Pawar a candidate for the post of President as he was the one who had taken the initiative to cobble together an opposition wall ahead of the last general elections.
"The country will go to polls in 2024. Pawar could be a threat to the ruling party. So, to pacify him, the BJP could project him as the country's next President," said Prof Anita Sinha, a political analyst.
READ: Mithun Chakraborty joins India's ruling BJP
Pawar is a prominent politician in India. During his long political career, Pawar has served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra thrice and also held the posts of Defence and Agriculture Minister in the federal government.
The astute politician is the president of NCP which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Congress party, now in opposition.
READ: BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly to join BJP next week?
Mamata Banerjee challenges her rival's election win
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has moved a higher court in state capital Kolkata against the win of her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram in last month's assembly polls. The High Court in Kolkata is slated to hear Mamata's petition on Friday morning, her lawyer has said.
On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power with a resounding majority, she lost her own seat in Nandigram to BJP's star campaigner Suvendu by a thin margin of some 2,000 votes.
Also read: Bengal's ruling party makes Mamata's nephew second-in-command
In her plea, Mamata has asked the high court to declare Suvendu's election win null and void on the grounds that he indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion. "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read.
In her petition, the firebrand woman politician has also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, according to Mamata's lawyer Sanjay Bose. "The High Court is likely to hear the plea around 11am on Friday," he told the media.
Also read: Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM
Though Mamata had conceded defeat to Suvendu in Nandigram -- the potboiler of the assembly election in Bengal -- the Trinamool supremo said on the counting day only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "I will move the court against Suvendu's win," she had said.
West Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after nearly 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.
Also read: India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet
Two Bengal Ministers get bail in cash-for-favours scam
A higher court in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Friday granted bail to two senior ministers in the West Bengal government and two other politicians apprehended by the country's top federal probe agency in connection with a cash-for-favours scam.
The High Court in Kolkata ordered the release of the four politicians -- serving ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, and former ministers Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee -- currently under house arrest, on the condition that they wouldn't interact with the media.
"A five-judge bench has granted interim bail to the four politicians. But they have been asked not to interact with the media in the Narada tapes scandal or in any other case," lawyer Sushanto Roy told UNB over the phone from Kolkata.
Read:House arrest for 2 Bengal Ministers in cash-for-favours scam
The four politicians were placed under house arrest by the High Court on May 21, following a split in a two-judge bench.
The four were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 17 for their alleged role in the Narada tapes scandal. They were sent to jail custody that day only after the High Court, in a late-night order, stayed their bail granted by a special CBI court.
On May 17, high drama unfolded in Kolkata as Bengal Chief Minister Mamata staged a five-hour dharna outside the office of the federal probe agency in protest against the "illegal" arrest of her two senior ministers in the Narada tapes scandal case.
Mamata had told the media that the state assembly speaker didn't give his mandatory consent to the arrest of the two Ministers.
Read: Cash-for-favours scam: Two top Bengal Ministers to stay in jail
While Firhad and Subrata are Urban Development and Panchayati Raj Ministers, respectively, Madan is a legislator of Mamata's ruling Trinamool Congress party. Sovan, on the other hand, is Kolkata's former Mayor. He left the Trinamool in 2019 to join India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, but quit the outfit before the assembly polls.
The two serving and two former Ministers were arrested barely 10 days after Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar approved the CBI's plea to prosecute the four accused in the Narada tapes scandal.
The Governor then claimed that his approval "is more than enough" for the arrest of the accused as he had presided over their swearing-in ceremony. "Governor accorded sanction for prosecution... being the appointing authority of ministers @MamataOfficial under article 164 and thus competent authority," he tweeted on May 9.
Read:Two top Bengal Ministers get bail in cash-for-favours scam
The Narada scandal was a sting operation carried out by a journalist that caught on tape several ministers and senior officials of the erstwhile Mamata government accepting cash bribes in exchange for doling out unofficial favours to a private firm looking to set up business in Bengal.
Earlier this month, Mamata scripted history by single-handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP, but also decimated the Left Front. However, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram.
Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.
India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet
Indian state of West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday inducted as many as 43 Ministers into her Cabinet, including 18 new faces.
The Ministers, including nine junior ministers, were administered the oath of office by West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan (governor's house) in state capital Kolkata.
However, two of Mamata's senior Cabinet colleagues -- Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Higher Education Minister Bratya Bose -- were sworn in virtually. While Mitra has been unwell, Bose is said to be recovering from Covid-19.
Also read: Game over: How an injured Mamata won against a fully fit saffron squad
All the veterans of Mamata's ruling Trinamool Congress party -- Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Sujit Bose, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Shashi Panja -- have found a berth in Mamata's new Cabinet.
Though Mamata allocated almost all the ministries to her new Cabinet colleagues, she has retained six key portfolios, including home and health. Mamata, affectionately called Didi, took her oath as the chief minister of West Bengal for the third time on May 5.
The swearing-in ceremony of Mamata's new ministers comes a day after the Bengal Governor approved the country's top federal investigative agency's plea to prosecute four former ministers of Mamata's government in a cash-for-favours scam.
Surprisingly, two of the accused in the Narada tapes scandal -- Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim -- are in the new Cabinet.
"Governor accorded sanction for prosecution... being the appointing authority of ministers @MamataOfficial under article 164 and thus competent authority," the Governor tweeted on Sunday evening.
The Narada scandal was a sting operation carried out by a journalist that caught on tape several ministers and senior officials of the erstwhile Mamata government accepting cash bribes in exchange for doling out unofficial favours to a private firm.
Last week, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP, but also decimated the Left Front.
Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old firebrand politician lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes.
"This is Bangla's win... this is Bengal's win... this is your win. This win has saved Bengal, it has saved the culture and tradition of Bengal," she said, addressing a press meet on May 5.
Mamata, however, made it clear in that presser only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "How come the Election Commission reversed the results in Nandigram after formally announcing it? We will move court."
Also read: Mamata compensates kin of Bengal post-poll violence victims
The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 77 seats. In 2016, the party had just three legislators in the state. However, the Left Front has failed to grab a single seat this time. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years -- from 1977 to 2011.
Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.
Game over: How an injured Mamata won against a fully fit saffron squad
If only veteran politician Shamim Osman knew that his famous 'Khela Hobe'(Game on!) speech would turn out to be one of the main slogans of Trinamool Congress in the recently concluded West Bengal elections, he surely would have made a patent for it.
Prashant Kishor, the political strategist considered as the brain behind TMC's landslide victory in the assembly election, explained the significance of the 'Khela Hobe' slogan several times while talking to the Indian media.
According to him, 'Khela hobe' delivered a message to the voters that TMC will fight till the very end.
"During elections, BJP created such a psychological fear that there is no chance for the other party. Amit Shah comes to Bengal and says that Didi(Mamata Banerjee) is done, she is all alone. This psychological pressure forces the opponents to give up. Hence the 'Game on' slogan. It means we will fight till the very end," he said in an interview with India Today back in March.
An intense matchup did take place, staggered out over eight legs, and Mamata played till the very end, with an injured left foot and won decisively against a fully fit BJP squad, led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah - who each held over 50 rallies in the state - and propped up by the likes of Yogi Adityanath.
BJP has a very clear strategy when it comes to winning elections.
They challenge an incumbent government, strengthen their local organisation by poaching politicians from the local parties and through party booth committees and the work of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), present Narendra Modi as the only leader committed to the state’s interests, promise a web of welfare schemes and push a very aggressive Hindu nationalist ideology in the state in a bid to polarise and consolidate the Hindu vote.
Despite doing it all in Bengal, the saffron camp failed to conquer their final frontier after locking horns with the charismatic Mamata Banerjee.
'Didi', as Banerjee is affectionately known, stood her ground against a BJP machine which had everything, money, muscle power, the media and some would say even the Election Commission.
Shah, the architect behind the BJP's electoral juggernaut witnessed since 2014, was constantly predicting the kind of overwhelming victory that in the end TMC pulled off.
The Trinamool Congress ended up winning 48% of the vote and 73% of seats, its best performance ever on both counts. Not bad for a party said to be suffering anti-incumbency!
In this piece, we will try to look at the some factors which contributed to the win.
Also read: Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM
Bengali nationalism: From Didi to Banglar Meye
Any specific ideological core was more or less absent from Trinamool Congress since its inception. But they had to resort to something to combat BJP's Hindu nationalism.
Thus, they went for Bengali nationalism, which was probably the most obvious choice.
They portrayed themselves as local heroes up against bohiragotos(literally outsiders) and Borgis (Maratha raiders who led a destructive invasion of Bengal in the 18th century).
To take matters further, Mamata Banerjee, who was always known as Didi (Sister) and still is by the people of Bengal, was also rebranded as 'Banglar Meye' (Daughter of Bengal). During campaigning, Trinamool launched the slogan — “Bangla nijer meye ke chay (Bengal wants its own daughter)” as a part of this.
Talking to UNB, Papia Sen, professor of political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: "Although the rebranding of Mamata Banerjee was not the main reason behind TMC's success, it was certainly an effective tactic against the Hindutva stance of BJP."
According to Prof Sen, it "evoked Bengal's natural sentiments for their daughters and added a household touch" to Banerjee.
Women Voters
According to Papia Sen, the real vote bank for TMC is not Muslims or minorities, but rather women.
"Over the years, Mamata has undertaken a series of welfare policies which led to direct flow of cash into the hands of women. In return, the women of West Bengal have always remained loyal to her," she said.
TMC ensured regular cash transfers to girls if they do not get married and remain in school.
Papia Sen also said that she believes that the women of Bengal were emotionally moved when they saw their chief minister, a strong woman herself, was on the receiving end of "low-level bullying and taunting" by BJP leadership, including PM Narendra Modi.
Modi publicly taunted Mamata by saying “Didi O Didi" in a tone likened to louts and punks by Mahua Moitra, a TMC politician.
BJP’s West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh also offended traditional Bengali sensibilities when he commented on Mamata's hitched up saree (to accommodate the cast on her injured left foot), asking on national television why she can’t switch to sporting bermuda shorts instead of exposing her legs.
Also read: Bucking anti-incumbency, Mamata scores a hat-trick in Bengal
The taunting and bullying only moved more women votes towards TMC, according to experts including Papia Sen.
Muslim Vote
The so-called Muslim vote bank is always a huge factor in West Bengal as the Muslim share of the state's population is more than double the national average.
"TMC government funded minority institutions including madrasas and brought it to the mainstream. They have also provided scholarships to the Muslim and Dalit students. All these contributed in Muslims relying on the TMC government yet again," said Papia Sen.
"Besides the way BJP blamed TMC for pampering Muslims and pledged to change the status-quo once they come to power, forced Muslim voters across the state to perceive TMC as their only saviour. For this reason, Muslims who generally vote for Congress or Left, voted for TMC this year which played a major factor behind the election results."
"See, Murshidabad and Malda are strongholds of the Congress and Lefts, so generally the left alliance relied on the Muslim vote banks of these two districts. But when the poll results came, it was seen that TMC sweeped these two districts which means that the Muslims were undividedly united behind TMC this time around. This proved to be a huge game changer," added Papia Sen.
"Muslims were alarmed by BJP's promise of a communal citizenship test or National Register of Citizens and reflected it on the ballots," Papia remarked.
'No to BJP' campaign
A section of ‘civil society’ came out with a campaign called "No vote to BJP” at every corner of the state in an attempt to unite all voters against the party.
The activists, more or less consisting of people from Liberal Left backgrounds, were never huge fans of TMC or Mamata Banerjee in the first place.
But despite the 'No Vote to BJP' campaign not explicitly mentioning which party to vote for, it was perceived as a call on voters to unite behind TMC against a communal BJP. The defensive attitude of the Left-Congress Alliance against this campaign only made this perception stronger.
Even leaders of the recent farmer protests in Delhi came to West Bengal and participated in this campaign. The leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha led by Rakesh Tikait and social activist Medha Patkar held rallies in Nandigram, Singur and Kolkata urging people not to vote for the BJP.
The prominent names of Bengal’s television and film industry including singer-songwriter Anupam Roy, Anindya Chattopadhyay, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Anirban Bhattacharya and many more came up with a six-minute video song titled ‘Nijerder Motey, Nijeder Gaan’ with a message to the voters emphasising diversity and West Bengal's tradition of non-communal politics, setting it in contrast with BJP's unabashedly communal pitch.
Professor Sen has recognised the impact of this campaign behind the landslide victory of TMC.
"After 2011, the civil society distanced themselves from Mamata and TMC. But this time, the Civil Society and the Liberal Left were in a united front to stop BJP from coming to power at any cost," Papia Sen said.
Welfare schemes
The role of all the welfare schemes of TMC government behind their landslide victory has been getting inadequate attention.
Mamata's government has adopted a slew of welfare policies tackling every major aspect of life including food, shelter, education and health in Bengal, with some of the major ones started in the wake of the health and economic crisis due to the ongoing pandemic.
Also read: Will work together to overcome Covid crisis: Hasina to Mamata
She has schemes targeting women empowerment such as, Rupashree and Kanyashree that support them with grants for education and marriage, allowances for elderly people and social security measures for the struggling farmers and the unemployed youth.
According to Professor Sen, "The welfare schemes of Mamata Banerjee are one of the bigger factors if not the biggest driving votes to the Trinamool."
"As the BJP rose to prominence in the state threatening Mamata’s position since 2019, she has increased the magnitude and reach of her welfare schemes to galvanise the support of both the urban and rural poor, which constitutes most of the state’s voters. Delivering on these schemes, which have improved the lives of the poor and middle class have been very crucial behind TMC's success," she added.
Mamata for PM in 2024?
"Today Bengal saved India. This is not only a victory of the Bengali people, this is a victory of all India."
This is what Mamata Banerjee said in her immediate reaction after TMC's landslide victory.
According to many political experts this statement reflected her ambitions of becoming the face of the opposition in the 2024 central election.
The way Modi magic and the mighty 'Modi-Amit Shah' duo crumbled upon Mamata's charisma, it won't be a far fetched idea to consider Mamata Banerjee as an important figure in the upcoming 2024 national polls.
Besides, Congress's poor performance in Assam and falling behind DMK in Tamil Nadu and the Left in Kerala mean that Rahul Gandhi cannot be perceived as the main opposition leader at a national level.
Professor Sen said regarding this, "Although I am not sure whether she (Mamata) will be the main face of opposition in 2024, as it is related with many factors including a Congress buy-in, I am sure that she will play an instrumental role in uniting the opposition alliance against Modi."
"Moreover Mamata is a strong leader who unites people. So personally, I won't be surprised if she ends up being the main threat against the politics of division of BJP," Prof Sen said.
She also added that the strong image of Mamata can be effective against the Hindutva narrative of BJP as people can associate her with female goddesses, including Durga.
What the result means for Bangladesh
While many Bangladeshis expressed their emotions in social media or local tea stalls, celebrating the victory of Mamata Banerjee as their own, some didn’t shy away from identifying her as the main obstacle of the Teesta River treaty, something which holds great importance to the people of north Bengal in Bangladesh.
In short it can be said that there was a huge interest among the Bangladeshis regarding the West Bengal State Elections.
UNB talked with Tanvir Habib Jewel, Lecturer at the Department of International Relations at Bangladesh University of Professionals, on what the election result means for people across the border.
When asked about the future of Teesta treaty, he said, "TMC will continue leveraging the sentiment of the West Bengal people to deny Bangladesh the waters of Teesta. Besides considering the fact that the relationship between their State and Central government is at an all time low, I don't see the treaty happening in the near future."
Despite a grand reception of Modi in his recent Bangladesh visit, top BJP leadership have not stopped passing demeaning statements about Bangladeshi immigrants.
On April 13, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that Bangladeshis “infiltrate” into India because they don’t get food back home.
Further back on April 11, 2019, referring to illegal migrants from Bangladesh as “termites,” Shah said the BJP would throw them out after coming to power in nationwide elections that year.
So when asked about what would have happened if BJP won, Jewel said, "A BJP government in West Bengal would have increased the risk of communal violence in the state due to the party's aggressive Hindu Nationalist stance. The status quo would have created a precarious situation for Bangladesh as the communal tensions would definitely have a spillover effect across the borders."
"Besides the addition of the BJP government in Bengal along with Assam and Tripua would have surrounded Bangladesh with their ideologies. This would have encouraged the communal forces within our country and we have seen how violent they can turn out to be," he added.
Jewel also believes that BJP would have tried their very best to implement the controversial National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Act, to "justify their stance on so called illegal immigrants."
"They have already deregistered two million people in Assam. Now of people were delisted in West Bengal there would have been major problems for Bangladesh as a large number of people had migrated to the neighbouring country after 1947 and 1971," he concluded.
Mamata compensates kin of Bengal post-poll violence victims
A day after she was sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the third time, Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs two lakh each for the families of 16 people killed in post-poll violence in the eastern Indian state.
The firebrand woman politician also promised to give a government job to one family member each of all the five people killed in firing by federal security forces on agitated residents in Cooch Behar's Sitalkuchi area during polling last month.
"At least 16 persons -- mostly from the BJP and the Trinamool -- died in post-poll violence. We will pay a compensation of Rs two lakh to their family members. Our government will also provide jobs of home guard to one family member each of all the Sitalkuchi victims," Mamata said in Kolkata.
Also read: FM Momen greets Mamata; hopeful of resolving outstanding issues
UNB had earlier reported about the deaths in post-poll violence in West Bengal, which also prompted the Indian Home Ministry to seek a report from the state administration.
Appealing for calm, Mamata told her supporters on Tuesday not to indulge in any violence. "Bengal is a peace-loving place. During the elections, there has been some heat and dust and calm. The BJP did a lot of torture. But I appeal to all for calm."
Bucking anti-incumbency, Mamata scripted history on Sunday by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only staved off a massive challenge from India's ruling BJP but also decimated the Left Front.
Also read: Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM
Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes.
West Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.
BJP Office set on fire in India’s West Bengal, party blames Trinamool
The BJP party office in Kolkata’s Arambagh was set ablaze on Sunday evening as the Trinamool Congress inched towards a huge victory in the assembly elections reported NDTV.
The incident has reopened allegations of violence by the ruling party of the country.
The BJP leaders and workers tweeted the video, alleging that Trinamool, the opposition party, has unleashed violence on their workers elsewhere as well.
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, however, said it was the BJP workers who chased her party's Arambagh candidate Sujata Mondal and hit her on the head near polling booth.
Cellphone recorded videos from Arambag -- a town in Hooghly district 80-odd kilometres from Kolkata -- showed a fire raging through a temporary structure.
Also read: Bucking anti-incumbency, Mamata scores a hat-trick in Bengal
"After results for West Bengal assembly came in, TMC goons burnt down BJP's party office in Arambagh... Is this what Bengal will have to suffer for the next 5 years?" tweeted the BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya.
"TMC cadres didn't stop at burning BJP's party offices, they set our booth agent's house in Bishnupur also on fire..." read a second tweet.
The Trinamool is leading in more than 210 seats in the recently concluded assembly election. The BJP, which was targeting 200 seats is leading in 70-plus seats.
The BJP has been vocal about violence in the state over the last two years. The Election Commission said they factored in the security angle while charting the schedule for the elections.
Violence in the run-up to the polls has been followed by the two parties blaming each other.
7th phase of local elections underway in India's West Bengal amid COVID-19 spike
The seventh phase of local elections in India's eastern state of West Bengal is underway amid a huge spike in COVID-19 cases, officials said Monday.
The ongoing phase is being held in the shadow of spiraling COVID-19 cases. During the past 24 hours, 15,889 fresh COVID-19 cases and 57 related deaths were reported across the state.
The polling started from 7:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. (local time) amid tight security and adequate arrangements, according to officials.
In the ongoing phase, the voting is going on in 34 constituencies from five districts.
"Until 11:30 a.m. (local time) in today's phase, 37.72 percent of polling has been recorded," an official said. "Polling is going on peacefully and no major untoward incident has been reported so far."
Authorities have deployed 653 companies of paramilitary forces for the ongoing phase.
Special facilities including mandatory sanitization of the polling stations, thermal checking of voters at the entry point have been put in place.
Officials said in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the option of postal ballot facility has been extended to the electors who are COVID- 19 positive or suspect as certified by the competent authority and are in home or institutional quarantine along with those marked as persons with disabilities and above the age of 80 years.
Officials said people in large numbers were seen standing in queues from morning outside the polling stations.
"All the necessary facilities and security arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polling during this phase. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is being used along with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at all polling stations with a view to enhance the transparency of the election process," an election official said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to exercise their right to vote and follow the COVID-19 protocol.
Elections in the state would be completed in eight phases and the last phase is scheduled on April 29. The counting of votes will be carried out on May 2.
India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to unseat the local All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. Both the parties have been engaged in a tough fight for the electoral battle in the state.
The elections are being held at a time when India is witnessing a record increase in daily COVID-19 cases.
On Monday the country reported the world's biggest-ever daily surge with 352,991 new cases and 2,812 deaths.
Mithun Chakraborty joins India's ruling BJP
Barisal-born Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty Sunday joined India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in the poll-bound eastern state of West Bengal's capital Kolkata.