BJP urges Calcutta HC CJ to take suo moto action for stopping post-poll violence in WB

On Tuesday, BJP urged the Calcutta HC Chief Justice to take suo moto action directing the West Bengal administration to stop the post-poll violence in the state. Alleging a complete breakdown of law and order in WB, BJP's Tarakeswar poll candidate Swapan Dasgupta accused mobs of settling scores. Slamming CM Mamata Banerjee and TMC for turning a blind eye to the violence, he raised doubt whether the goons had been given time to wreak havoc until Banerjee takes oath as the Chief Minister. 

"Some 2.28 crore people in Bengal voted for BJP. Do they not have human rights and democratic freedoms? What is happening in West Bengal is an assault on Indian democracy. I am not pleading; I am demanding administrative action to stop the violence," BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta added.

Reportedly, at least 11 persons were killed in the violence which includes members of BJP, TMC and ISF. The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a detailed report from the state government regarding the "post-election violence targeting opposition political workers in the state". Meanwhile, BJP president JP Nadda will commence his two-day visit to WB later in the day and visit the families of the affected party workers. While TMC attributed the deaths to "intra-BJP fights", Banerjee requested everyone to remain peaceful. 

Assembly election in WB

After a hard-fought election campaign, TMC sprung a surprise by decisively winning the West Bengal election by bagging 213 seats whereas BJP could win in only 77 constituencies. The voter turnout for the seats that went to the polls in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth phases was 84.63 per cent, 86.11 per cent, 84.61 per cent, 79.90 per cent, 82.49 per cent, 79.11 per cent, 76.90 per cent and 78.32 per cent respectively. While the JP Nadda-led party won 74 more seats than the previous election, its vote share of 38.13% could not pose a challenge to TMC which garnered a vote share of 47.94%.

While the ruling party bettered its performance compared to 2016, it suffered a minor blip as WB CM Mamata Banerjee lost from Nandigram to her BJP opponent Suvendu Adhikari. However, barring the Nandigram MLA, most other TMC leaders who had switched over to BJP prior to the election could not win their seats. Even ex-nominated Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, Union Minister Babul Supriyo and BJP Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee had to face defeat. On the other hand, the Left-Congress-ISF alliance was routed failing to win even a single seat in the polls. Banerjee will take oath as the CM for the third time on May 5.