12 killed in India post-poll violence
At least 12 people have been allegedly killed in post-poll violence in West Bengal, prompting the Indian home ministry to seek a report from the eastern state’s administration.
"In the past two days, a dozen people have been killed in West Bengal. Supporters of the state's ruling Trinamool Congress as well as the main opposition BJP are among the dead," a police official told the local media in capital Kolkata on Tuesday, reports Mumbai Mirror.
Mamata, affectionately called Didi, is slated to take her oath as Bengal's chief minister for the third time on Wednesday.
Bucking anti-incumbency, Mamata scripted history on Sunday by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only staved off a massive challenge from India's ruling BJP but also decimated the Left Front.
Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes.
Mamata, however, made it clear in a press conference on Sunday itself that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "How come the Election Commission reverse the results in Nandigram after formally announcing it? We will move court."
In Nandigram, the Election Commission initially announced that Mamata had won by 1,200 votes but subsequently declared Adhikari as the winner. The polling officer also rejected a plea for a recount of votes.