Kolkata: Three people died in fresh political violence between members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, authorities said on Tuesday.
A police official said the bodies of two BJP members were found hanging from a tree in Howrah district over the past 48 hours, while a TMC stalwart was killed by a crude bomb blast late on Monday, in the east of Kolkata.
The BJP and TMC — which is in power at the state — have accused each other of instigating weeks of violence during and since India’s recent general elections.
Last Saturday, four people died and at least 18 were injured in gun battles between BJP and TMC supporters at Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district.
The BJP, which is in power at the Centre and has traditionally held sway in the Hindi-speaking belt in the north, has been trying hard to pick up support in West Bengal. In the general elections that ended last month, the BJP increased its tally of seats in the state to 18 from just two seats it had won in 2014.
On Tuesday, Sandeshkhali remained tense.
“There is a continuous sense of fear,” resident Rabin Mondal told AFP over the telephone. “We are spending sleepless nights. Many have fled.”
Last month, a BJP supporter was shot dead in Kolkata, while a car belonging to a TMC member was pelted with rocks. In February, a Trinamool lawmaker was shot dead.
