With campaigning now at a feverish pitch in West Bengal, the violence in this eastern state has gone out of control. Either way, West Bengal has stood out this election season for rowdy mobs and violent clashes. The West Bengal battleground has been a particularly sensitive one for both the BJP and TMC. For the BJP, seats won in West Bengal could be crucial to retaining power at the centre in case it loses a big chunk of the seats it held in Uttar Pradesh. Unlike other states, West Bengal thus has two bitterly opposed contenders that appear not to have to many qualms about deploying aggressive street tactics.

Source: Mint May 15, 2019 12:00 UTC