Most of them are from an opposition party to Modi. 7 people were killed in clashes during local elections in India

 Seven people were killed and dozens injured in violence surrounding the local elections in the state of West Bengal, which is ruled by Mamata Banerjee, who strongly opposes the directions of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The state is currently witnessing elections to select members of municipal councils out of 200,000 candidates in the state of 104 million people.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in India, led by Modi, has been seeking in recent years to gain a foothold in the state, which has been ruled by a communist party for long periods of its history. This is to expand his influence outside the northern Hindi-speaking regions.

"Seven people have been killed and dozens injured in election-related violence in various villages across the state," said the director general of police forces in West Bengal.

And the French Press Agency quoted a police source as saying that 5 of the dead belonged to the "Trinamool Congress" party ruling the state, and the other two dead were from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian Communist Party in West Bengal.

Footage broadcast by local media showed members of various parties roaming the streets with batons as well as taking ballot boxes and setting them on fire outside polling stations.

Police also announced the seizure of more than 200 improvised bombs intended to discredit or intimidate voters.

Banerjee, 68, of the Trinamool Congress party had ruled the state since 2011 when her party defeated the Communist Party, which had ruled the state for three decades.

In the West Bengal Parliament elections that took place in 2021, Modi's party suffered a heavy loss after fierce competition marred by violence; His party won 80 of the 294 state parliament seats, while Banerjee's party won 200 seats.

The loss of the Indian prime minister in those elections - despite harnessing all capabilities to win them - revived the opposition parties, which vowed to defeat his party in the general elections that will be held in 2024.

The roots of political violence in this state go back decades, with police recording thousands of election-time killings since the 1960s.