At least seven individuals were fatally wounded and dozens more sustained injuries in India on Saturday following clashes over local elections in West Bengal, a state infamous for political violence during electoral campaigns.
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has in recent years made significant efforts to establish a foothold in West Bengal—traditionally governed by a communist party—to expand its influence beyond its Hindi-speaking northern strongholds.
Currently, voters are actively participating in a fierce contest to elect municipal leaders, with over 200,000 candidates vying for positions across the state, which has a population of 104 million people.
According to Jawed Shamim, additional director general of West Bengal’s police force, “Seven individuals have lost their lives and numerous others have been injured in incidents of violence related to the elections, occurring in various villages across the state,” as reported to AFP.
Another police official, who preferred to remain anonymous due to a lack of authorization to speak with the media, stated that five of the deceased belonged to the ruling Trinamool Congress party, while the remaining two were affiliated with the BJP and West Bengal’s Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Local broadcasters aired footage depicting rival party workers wielding batons in the streets, along with instances of ballot boxes being seized and set on fire outside polling stations.