Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant has been shot dead, in what appears to be a case of post-poll violence in West Bengal, NDTV reported on Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as Chandranath Rath. The shooting incident took place in Madhyamgram, located in the state's North 24 Parganas district.
The assassination has been reported two days after the results of the high-stakes West Bengal assembly elections were declared. The BJP, for the first-time ever, secured a majority in the state.
The saffron party, whose de-facto face in the state is Adhikari, recorded a landslide win. It registered a victory in 207 out of the 293 seats contested, whereas the ruling Trinamool Congress was restricted to 80 constituencies.
Adhikari won from his incumbent seat of Nandigram, while also wresting the constituency of Bhabhanipur from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Banerjee, however, has defied the verdict, claiming that at least 100 seats were "stolen". She has also alleged manipulation of the electronic voting machines. "I will not resign. I have not lost the election," the TMC supremo said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Post-Poll Violence
Following the results being declared, cases of post-poll violence emerged despite the presence of central security forces. The TMC has accused the BJP of targeting its workers following the election results, whereas the latter has accused the Mamata Banerjee-led party of orchestrating the unrest.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra asserted that his party members have never indulged in violence after an election victory and claimed that TMC cadres were using BJP symbols while trying to create disturbance.
"In all the states where our government is in power, we have never resorted to violence against anyone. We are seeing reports that TMC workers, in several places, are wearing BJP scarves and carrying BJP flags while trying to carry out arson and disturb the atmosphere,” he told reporters here, responding to questions on violence in West Bengal after the assembly election results.
Claiming that the TMC is acting out of “frustration”, Patra said the party “can go to any extent” following its electoral defeat.
The BJP MP noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged party workers to avoid revenge politics and work towards development.
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