Polls re-staged after 20 killed in West Bengal election violence

Allegations of rigging led to looting and destruction of ballot boxes

A police officer guards a polling station in West Bengal's local elections on Saturday. AFP

West Bengal in India is re-running polls on Monday at nearly 700 booths following widespread violence that killed at least 20 people at the weekend.

The village-level elections were held in the state for more than 73,887 seats, with nearly 57 million voters deciding the electoral fate of more than 200,000 candidates on Saturday.

But they were marred by violence over allegations of rigging that led to clashes across the state, leaving several political workers dead amid reports of looting and destruction of ballot boxes and papers.

The state’s Election Commission reviewed the reports of violence and tampering on Sunday.

The polling was to continue until 5pm on Monday, with security guards at each booth. The count will take place on July 11.

West Bengal has been ruled by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress party since 2011, when her party defeated the Communist-led administration that had ruled the state for the previous three decades.

The state has long been notorious for violence during election campaigns, particularly in recent years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes to expand his party's political role in the eastern state.

At least 10 members of the ruling TMC were killed, including three each from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress and two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Ms Banerjee, a fierce critic of Mr Modi, has accused the Hindu nationalist BJP of attempting to import divisive sectarian politics into the state, which has a large Muslim minority.