Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has no qualms in mixing economics with politics, which is evident from her reaction to the railway budget, says Renu Mittal.
However, a few defectors, who joined the BJP, got the better of their TMC rivals, including Suvendu Adhikari who emerged as a proverbial giant slayer, by defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee albeit by a narrow margin.
Buoyed with its success in the municipal election in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday said the poll results have demonstrated that the party has enough strength to rule the state alone.
Marking the anniversary of the end of the 34-year-old Communist Party of India - Marxist rule in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, flanked by her supporters, on Sunday took out a march and claimed that her government had fulfilled most of its poll promises.
The ruling TMC in West Bengal was rocked by a fresh bout of desertions on Friday with Banerjee quitting the party and several other leaders rallying behind him.
Despite getting a bigger-than-sought package from the central government for West Bengal and despite the Congress refraining from putting up a candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections from the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has made up her mind that she will continue to oppose most of the central government bills, projects and schemes.
Railway Minister Mukul Roy on Monday said safety, security and punctuality are his priorities while asserting that the Railways would strive to achieve a better operating ratio.
If a minister does not have the freedom of expression, it is anything but democracy. It is a sad day for the very foundations of Indian democracy, former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi tells Neerja Chowdhury
Disagreeing with the formula of hike of one paisa or two paisa per km, Mamata said, "In railways there is no travel for a distance of mere one km or two km distance.
To become a national party, a political outfit has to get recognised as a state party in at least four states and the TMC has earned that tag in three states, Mukul Roy, all India general secretary of the party, said.
Railway passenger fares in all AC classes and first class may rise by 3.6 per cent from July 1 as there are little indications that Finance Ministry would extend service tax exemption to Railways beyond this month.
As the BJP activists jostled to reach the Bowbazar crossing in the city, police resorted to firing tear gas shells and water cannons to disperse them.
Observing that freight charges cannot keep subsidising the passenger fare, Trivedi said, "One thing is linked with another and you cannot keep on increasing your freight charges and freight cannot keep on subsidising the fare."
This was on the expected lines after Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee played a major role in getting the former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi resign.
He was asked if there will be any roll back in the hike in passenger fares.
"The meeting of the newly-elected MLAs of the Trinamool Congress will be held in Kolkata on Sunday to elect the leader, party general secretary Mukul Roy said on Saturday.
Trinamool Congress General Secretary Mukul Roy on Tuesday filed two defamation cases against West Bengal minister Gautam Deb, including a civil suit seeking damages of Rs 15 crore, for alleging that the Opposition party used black money for its election campaign.
As the government prepared to table the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, its key partner Trinamool Congress on Wednesday indicated that it could act difficult as it had objections to the provision on setting up of Lokayuktas in states
According to the sources, he wrote to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee apprising her of his decision to resign from the party's primary membership.
Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee called up Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday night and they are likely to hold final round of talks on Tuesday to resolve differences over seat sharing between the two parties for the Assembly polls in West Bengal.
After clearing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam hurdle in Tamil Nadu, the Congress is in talks with Trinamool Congress which on Wednesday said it has offered its ally 58 seats in West Bengal as against the national party's demand for 98.
Non-BJP chief ministers are retaliating. If the Centre can use its agencies to threaten, intimidate and jail its rivals, so can they. The fightback will get more intense, observes Shekhar Gupta.
"I am very excited about joining the TMC. I will work for the development of Bengal," he said.
While TMC leaders ridiculed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath for lifting an image purportedly from West Bengal, the BJP in the Mamata Banerjee-ruled state took potshots at crashing flyovers in the eastern state over the use of an image in a newspaper ad
'The more you challenge her, the more powerful she gets'
The BJP announced its list of 148 candidates for the last four phases of assembly election in West Bengal, rewarding around 20 turncoats and fielding party heavyweights Mukul Roy and Rahul Sinha.
'The Shaheen Bagh model of bullets and biryani won't work. The RSS looked at a template that would play to Bengali pride and harp on the state's development. Mamata's slogan to defeat the Left Front was 'Bengal awake and arise'. She promised to check the flight of capital from Bengal to far-flung states and usher in a renaissance. The RSS wants the BJP to pitch this line because it feels Mamata hasn't delivered on her promises.'
Naturally, the West Bengal chief minister is not leaving anything to chance, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
Shah also rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to a temple of the Matua community -- which is in sizeable number in the state -- during his trip to Bangladesh violated the poll code.
A huge controversy erupted on Sunday amid the polling for 30 assembly seats in West Bengal, with the Bharatiya Janata Party releasing an audio clip where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is purportedly heard cajoling a BJP leader from Nandigram to rejoin the Trinamool Congress and help her win the seat.
33-year-old Abhishek Banerjee has emerged as the most visible and significant leader in the party after his pishi (aunt), Mamata Banerjee reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
'A hugely dangerous game which she thought she had mastered has now found a stronger opponent,' points out Payal Mohanka.
The party has also expanded its list of spokesperson to 23, with MP Anil Baluni being elevated as the chief spokesperson and remaining its media head.
She complained of breathlessness and chest pain early in the morning and was immediately rushed to the hospital, Roy said.
The BJP has decided to revamp the organisation by rewarding efficient party workers and leaders and remove several turncoats from local and district levels.
He was accompanied by TMC MP and the chief minister's nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.
Observing that a deliberate and conscious attempt was made to influence his decision before the recusal application was placed before him, Justice Chanda imposed the cost for the manner in which the recusal was sought and directed that the amount be deposited to the Bar Council of West Bengal within two weeks.
Shah, who was accompanied by BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargya, was greeted with slogans of 'Amit Shah zindabad', 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' by party workers at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
Top Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy has been asked by Central Bureau of Investigation to appear before it in the Saradha chit fund scam probe, drawing angry reaction from the party which accused Bharatiya Janata Party of using the agency as a "political tool".
Left high and dry, the BJP has had no option but to go for the overkill with 800 rallies, including 20 by the prime minister. In the process, it may be overplaying its card, observes Amulya Ganguli.
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