22 images that captures glimpses of a most unusual Indian who led the nation for 10 years.
In the past five years, UP's Opposition remained passive and defensive against the BJP, a trend that does not augur well for the impending battle.
The party's prime mover in West Bengal and the state Pradesh Congress president was stunned by Trinamool Congress's star candidate and cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan who comprehensively defeated Chowdhury by a margin of over 85,000 votes.
The Supreme Court of India has invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in West Bengal's state-run and state-aided schools, deeming the selection process "vitiated and tainted." The court ordered the state government to conduct a fresh selection process within three months. The decision comes after a Calcutta High Court verdict in April 2024, which also annulled the appointments. The apex court, while upholding the high court's order, made some modifications, including exempting disabled employees from returning their salaries. The case stemmed from alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), involving OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping. The Supreme Court had previously termed it a "systemic fraud." Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being investigated in the recruitment scam.
'Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and the Indian team are just sidekicks.'
Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay announced that the opposition parties will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Thursday morning to discuss the issue.
In what could be a history of sorts, a survery conducted by Star Ananda-Star News-AC Nielsen predicts a two-third majority for the Mamta Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance.
A Raja said panel's chairman Jagdambika Pal has been conducting the panel's meetings in haste, raising doubts that it will not be able to serve justice.
TMC demanded 'strong action' for the 'unfounded, inappropriate and illegal' campaign and utterances of Modi.
One person was killed and at least 18 others were injured in a series of clashes between supporters of Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India since Sunday night in West Midnapore district, police said on Monday.
Several opposition parties have claimed that the mandate of 2024 Lok Sabha elections was against the ruling haratiya Janata Party, even though it was able to form the government with support of other parties.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee claimed on Monday that he had got specific information on the Trinamool Congress' link with the Maoists and warned the party not to join hands with it to put the Communist Party of India-Marxist in trouble.
Villagers alleged that a seven-month-old child was snatched from her mother's lap and thrown away by miscreants in Sandeshkhali.
'The PM who is first among equals, who has to listen to others, take their point of view into account and who would have to be a good manager'
Returning from the group of 20 meeting in Los Cabos and the two-day Rio conference, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced a volley of questions from media persons ranging from the slump in the economy to the worsening state of the economy to the drama over the next President of the country. Here's the transcript...
A delegation of opposition party leaders on Friday met the top brass of Election Commission to raise its concerns over poll code violations by the ruling party leaders, and also flagged concerns over delay in release of voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the polls.
It is noteworthy that, rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Suvendu Adhikari formally tendered his resignation to party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday.
Dev had been serving as the national spokesperson of the Congress and its women's wing chief.
"We will complain. He can meditate, but televisions cannot show it," she said, alleging that this will amount to "violation of the MCC."
Alleging there was a "conspiracy by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to kill Mamata Banerjee after her Lalgarh rally, Trinamool Congress on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram seeking their intervention in the matter.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
'Women are likely to have voted because of the numerous welfare schemes. The CAA consolidated minority votes and the BJP's booth-level organisation in Bengal is weak.'
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
In another display of the politics of threat in West Bengal, a ruling Trinamool Congress Member of Legislative Assembly openly threatened to "behead" a Congress leader in Birbhum district.
The leaders of the INDIA requested the EC to instruct its officials that they should follow the guidelines.
Consensus emerged on the appointment of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), while Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar's name was proposed for the convener's post, pending approval of parties absent at the alliance meeting on Saturday, according to sources.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah also congratulated the franchise on social media.
The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday denied involvement in the killing of two senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leaders in Burdwan town, claiming the two were victims of "mob fury".
Slamming Opposition parties for disrupting parliamentary proceedings, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said as details of the Parliament security breach incident emerge, it is getting "obvious" that the DNA of those who entered the Lok Sabha is inextricably linked to the "Congress-Communist axis".
Ahead of senior BJP leader Narendra D Modi's election rally in Karakat on May 25 to support National Democratic Alliance candidate Upendar Kushwaha, the BJP finally acted against Pawan Singh, who refused to withdraw from the fray.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is unlikely to attend a meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 1, sources said, as it coincides with the last phase of voting in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
The leaders will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the Bharatiya Janata Party in their campaign, they said.
Polling for the fifth phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections will take place on May 20, 2024, with 49 seats going to the polls across 8 states.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited was the top donor to the Bharatiya Janata Party at Rs 584 crore and the Bharat Rashtra Samiti at Rs 195 crore.
The sources said the opposition leaders would now plan joint rallies that were put on hold due to the assembly elections.
The Congress now knows that it is the only force -- however weakened it might be -- that stands between the BJP and India's evolution into a single-party Republic. Because, once it is out of the way, the BJP could sort out the other regional powers: Co-opting some, demolishing others, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Tripura Trinamool Congress president Pijush Kanti Biswas said TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister will arrive in Tripura on February 6 to campaign for party candidates.
In a major setback to the opposition INDIA bloc, Banerjee announced that her party has decided to go alone in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The three ills of 'dynasticism, corruption and appeasement' politics must quit India in the best interest of the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Wednesday as it commemorated the Quit India movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on this day in 1942.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The loss marks a significant blow to Kejriwal's national ambitions and raises questions about the future of the party. The AAP had been in power in Delhi for the past 10 years and had also formed a government in Punjab. Despite the defeat, the party still holds 13 MPs from Punjab and Delhi. The article examines the factors that contributed to the AAP's defeat, including allegations of corruption, poor civic facilities, and the BJP's relentless attacks. It also explores the impact of the loss on Kejriwal's national aspirations and the party's future.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances