Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s historic victory in the West Bengal assembly polls, state party president Samik Bhattacharya on Tuesday urged the administration to take strict action against those perpetrating post-poll violence.Talking to reporters, Bhattacharya warned that BJP workers found involved in such activities would be expelled from the party.“Post-poll violence will not be tolerated in any form. If anyone from our party is found involved, we will be compelled to remove them,” he said.“I would like to urge the administration to take necessary action wherever such incidents occur. This is precisely why the people of West Bengal have chosen the BJP,” he said.He also accused TMC workers of attacking their own candidates.“Two hours after the results, a TMC candidate called up Dilip Ghosh to save him. Dilip Ghosh asked him for his whereabouts, upon which he said that he was in the party office. He told the candidate that those people were with him during the elections,” he said.“The candidate said that those are TMC people but are now coming to beat him up. This was bound to happen. TMC was not a political party,” he added.Meanwhile, news agency PTI reported that a high-level meeting was held at the BJP’s Bidhannagar office, attended by central observers and senior state leaders, to discuss measures to prevent violence and maintain law and order in the post-result scenario.The discussions also focused on ensuring that there is no repeat of the violence reported after the 2021 assembly elections, when the BJP had accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of targeting its workers.The BJP has secured 207 of the 293 seats where polls were held, securing a two-thirds majority and paving the way for its first government in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress has won 80 seats.
