At least four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers were injured when a group of unidentified miscreants hurled a bomb at the party’s victory march in broad daylight on Monday in Birbhum district of Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal. According to news agency ANI, the incident took place in Mayureswar of Birbhum on Monday evening when the BJP workers were holding a victory march to celebrate the party’s landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections. It said that as soon as the march crossed Lokpara area, a few allegedly belonging to TMC hurled a country-made bomb at the rally, leaving over four BJP workers injured.
According to the BJP’s claim, the bomb was hurled by TMC backed goons. They said that though the police officials were present in the rally, they didn’t come to the rescue of BJP workers.
The state has been witnessing incidents of political violence for long. Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from across West Bengal since the Lok Sabha poll results were announced on May 23. The BJP pulled off a stunning victory in West Bengal, winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. The TMC bagged 22 seats, 12 less than its 2014 tally of 34.
Leaders of both parties are engaged in an intense war of words over political killings in West Bengal. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that BJP workers in Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal were being killed only for their political ideology, a charge rejected by the TMC. Banerjee’s party said that PM Modi was making baseless allegations and that TMC members were being targeted in political violence in the state.
Since May 23, the day results were out, two BJP workers have been killed in West Bengal. While on Sunday, BJP worker Chandan Shaw was shot dead in Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district, a 23-year-old worker was shot dead in Nadia district’s Chakdaha town on Friday night. While the BJP alleged that TMC men were behind the killings, Banerjee has said that killings might have been a result of infighting within the saffron party.
