Suvendu Adhikari, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the leader of the opposition in West Bengal, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. On Tuesday, he met with Union home minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda to discuss a range of issues, including post-poll violence.
The meeting takes place as the BJP ramps up its campaign against post-election violence in West Bengal, following its defeat in the state elections in April and May.
On Sunday, a crude bomb killed Jaiprakash Yadav, a labourer who the party claimed was a BJP supporter, in the Jagatdal area of the North 24 Parganas district. The BJP claimed that Yadav’s death brought the total number of party workers killed since the poll results were announced on May 2 to 27.
Several incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal shortly after Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) won a third term. Banerjee claimed after being sworn in on May 5 that the clashes are taking place in areas where the BJP won the elections. A day later, Banerjee announced that at least 16 people had died in post-election violence in the state, mostly from the BJP and the TMC. She also claimed that the majority of the 16 deaths were not reported until May 3, when the Election Commission of India was in charge of law and order.
Meanwhile, the BJP has been relentless in raising the issue of post-election violence, not just in Bengal but across the country. The issue was discussed at a meeting held at Nadda’s Delhi home on Sunday.
Dilip Ghosh, the president of the West Bengal BJP, said on Tuesday that the party intends to file a petition with President Ram Nath Kovind over post-election violence. He claimed that the BJP has begun district-level sit-ins in protest of alleged BJP worker violence, police inaction, and political over-vaccination.
Ghosh also stated that the party intends to hold a state-wide protest on June 23.
Suvendu Adhikari served in the previous West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee. In December of last year, he switched from Banerjee’s TMC to the BJP. In a close battle, he defeated the chief minister of Nandigram.
Adhikari and Nadda spoke to reporters after the meeting on Tuesday, calling the situation in West Bengal “very grim.” The leaders also claimed that BJP workers in the state are constantly threatened. Nadda assured BJP workers that the party stands firmly behind them and will do everything possible to ensure their well-being.
