How Lionel Messi was dragged into an Indian election battle

India’s ruling party has seized on the chaotic handling of football legend Lionel Messi’s appearance in Kolkata to attack the government in West Bengal, turning the Argentinian’s visit into an election-season test for one of the country’s most politically consequential states. The visit descended into chaos as crowd unrest prompted arrests and an apology from West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. West Bengal’s opposition leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governs...