West Bengal political killings: State leads in number political casualties

Between 2010 and 2019, West Bengal witnessed the highest number of political killings in India at 161, NCRB data shows.

New Delhi: On the morning of May 6, in the middle of Home Minister Amit Shah’s two-day visit to West Bengal, a BJP worker was found hanging in a North Kolkata locality, leading to a fresh war of words between the saffron camp and Trinamool Congress, and forcing the Union Home minister to make an unscheduled stop at the deceased’s house. 

In Bengal, the BJP has been at the receiving end of violence inflicted by ruling TMC workers, with the police accused of being hand in glove with the perpetrators. BJP workers have been killed, the women raped, homes and properties have been burnt down and captured, and thousands forced to flee their villages. 

Last year, the Election Commission’s decision to conduct assembly elections in Bengal in eight phases had come under much criticism from Mamata Banerjee. However, the decision was based on a report by the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

The MHA had said that 693 incidents of violence and 11 deaths were reported during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state. Even after the elections, where the BJP won a record 18 seats out of 42, as many as 852 cases of political violence were reported from June 1 to December 31, 2019, which led to the deaths of 61 people. 

In 2020, the MHA report said, 663 incidents were recorded, in which 57 people were killed. The first week of January 2021 alone saw 23 incidents of violence, leading to two deaths and 43 injuries. During the 2018 panchayat elections, 23 people cutting across political parties were killed in clashes, the report further said.