Bengal violence

It is no surprise that the bitterly contested Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal have been ravaged by violence the likes of which has not been seen anywhere else in the country. It looks violence and brutality runs in the veins of Bengal's politics.

Remember, when TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, then in the ascendant, made her bid to topple the incumbent Left Front government, similar scenes of violence were played out in the state? Stone-pelting, exchange of blows, torching of vehicles - it was a brazen display of hooliganism and lawlessness.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is taking a holier-than-thou stance, even though she and BJP president Amit Shah are equally responsible for letting their workers run riot. Hitherto, the TMC had a near-monopoly of aggression. However, an emboldened BJP will be signal for retaliation -some of which was in evidencein this election. Normal politics in Bengal, it would seem, is destined to be distorted by the cult of violence.

-J Akshobya, Secunderabad