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INDIA-POLITICS-ELECTION-UNREST
Clashes leave Kolkata on edge ahead of India vote climax
KOLKATA, May 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Clashes between followers of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and an opposition leader heightened tensions in the
key Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday ahead of the final round of the
country’s hard-fought national election.
Fifty-nine people were arrested in street battles late Tuesday that forced
Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to leave an
election rally in the eastern metropolis under armed guard, police in West
Bengal state said.
A statue of renowned Bengal reformer, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, was
destroyed and a college named after him ransacked in the troubles, which the
BJP and rival Trinamool Congress (TMC) angrily blamed on each other.
The state has been hit by repeated violence between the two parties during
the six-week-long election that ends Sunday. Results will be announced on May
23.
Modi’s BJP hopes to capture many of the state’s 42 parliament seats from
the TMC to compensate for losses predicted in other regions.
The BJP accused West Bengal’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee of
orchestrating attacks on Shah’s roadshow.
“Has Bengal acquired a government of gangsters? The attack on Amit Shah’s
peaceful rally by TMC is deplorable,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on
Twitter.
– Activist freed –
Banerjee, who called a protest rally for Wednesday, hit back by accusing
Shah acting like a “god” who does not allow protests.
Trouble erupted when Shah’s convoy drove past the entrance to Calcutta
University, where TMC student wing activists had gathered.
“It became worse when TMC supporters started throwing stones at the tail-
end of the rally. A group of people then set two motorbikes and a bicycle on
fire,” said witness Partha Sinha.
The BJP held a silent protest in Delhi against the violence in West
Bengal. The TMC and its allies held rival protests in Kolkata.
Political observers say the aggressive campaign by Modi’s party against
the TMC in the eastern state has made it one of the most bitter contests in
the election.
Modi won a landslide victory in 2014 but many pollsters expect him to lose
his overall majority this time. A good performance in West Bengal would
significantly improve his chances of a second term.
The two parties have also been at loggerheads over a BJP activist arrested
for posting a doctored image on Facebook with Banerjee’s head on the body of
Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra.
Priyanka Sharma was arrested last week for posting the viral meme that
sparked national headlines.
She was released on Wednesday after the Supreme Court intervened, saying
she should be freed if she apologised.
But Sharma told journalists after her release: “All I did was post a meme
and I was jailed for 5 days. I am not sorry.”
BSS/AFP/SSS/1517 hrs