Reacting to TMC's jibe, West Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said "agents of BJP" should not advise the party how to fight against the saffron camp.
An initial probe has revealed that the 53-year-old singer, who was on a two-day tour to Kolkata to perform at two college programmes, was 'almost mobbed' by fan followers at the hotel where he had returned to after performing at Nazrul Mancha auditorium in the southern part of Kolkata.
Newly floated Indian Secular Front had initially demanded 15 seats from the Congress, but the party had agreed to give only five to it.
It will be her first public appearance after she was allegedly attacked by some people in Nandigram earlier this week.
West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain was seriously injured after unidentified attackers hurled a crude bomb at him on Nimtita railway station in Murshidabad district on Wednesday night, police said.
Upholding principles was a luxury when there were charismatic leaders capable of winning elections without stooping low to indulge in identity politics, observes Virendra Kapoor.
'The more you challenge her, the more powerful she gets'
Reacting to the statement, the Congress in Goa accused the TMC of entering the poll fray in the state in order to 'divide secular votes and give mileage to the ruling BJP', and also alleged that Kishor's remarks exposed Mamata Banerjee-led party's agenda.
'I told Rahul: "You have to become president. Taalne se nahin hoga (you can't avoid the responsibility any longer)".' 'Rahul said: "I will think about it".'
Hailing Banerjee as the "real Bengal tigress", the party, which had earlier said that it would join the electoral battle in the state, vowed to "stand in solidarity" with the TMC camp.
The Election Commission on Wednesday ruled out any change in the schedule of the West Bengal assembly polls and told the Trinamool Congress that its suggestion to club the last three of the eight phases is "not feasible".
However, Gaurav Gogoi, the All India Congress Committee in-charge of party affairs in the state, refused to accept Mitra's resignation.
Siliguri Police Commissioner B L Meena confirmed that the Congress had sought permission for landing a helicopter at police ground which was denied.
The BJP said, in a statement, that its workers held protests in district headquarters across the country, with its national general secretary Arun Singh leading the stir in Bhubaneswar, Maharashtra party chief Chandrakant Patil in Mumbai and Bihar unit president Sanjay Jaiswal in Patna, among other places.
Bengali sub-nationalism is slowly emerging as a rallying cry ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections due next year.
Opposition leaders believe this entire plan has been put in place to ensure that Mamata Banerjee is kept out of office in West Bengal.
A quick look at the 66-year-old leader's political journey in the mid-1970s shows how injuries and physical assaults have shaped her political career over the years.
The Opposition also seems to be in a disarray as far as floor coordination is concerned with no meeting held to discuss the strategy to corner the government on key issues.
The former Union minister had suffered a stroke in 2008 and was hospitalised since then.
Congress on Wednesday made known its unhappiness over its senior leader Kapil Sibal representing West Bengal government in the multi-crore rupees Saradha scam in the Supreme Court, two days after its state unit expressed objection to it.
Addressing his maiden poll rally in West Bengal's Malda, the Congress chief said, "Did the youth get employment, did the farmers receive any help? Like Modi, Mamata Banerjee makes only fake promises and lies to the people."
Pranab recalled how she once stormed out of a meeting, leaving him feeling "humiliated and insulted".
The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has often been mocked by opponents for not having a well-defined ideological plank, seems to have finally found its calling in Bengali sub-nationalism, as a section of top party leaders feel only an 'inclusive message of regionalism, which the Bengalis can identify with, will counter the aggressive nationalism and Hindutva practised by the saffron camp'.
'This is a fascinating side to Sonia Gandhi, the way she disarms her opponents.'
A six-member Congress delegation led by former Bengal Minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia met Joshi in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum seeking assurance on the continuation of all rail projects announced for the state.
Sources in the party have been maintaining that Congress will induct at least one minister from West Bengal during this reshuffle.
Apparently toeing the central party leadership's move to keep Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in good humour ahead of the Presidential poll, the West Bengal Congress, which had threatened to pull out of the state government, on Wednesday changed its track and said it wanted to work in harmony with the ally.
The Congress on Wednesday decided to take on Trinamool Congress ally Socialist Unity Centre of India in two seats at South 24 Parganas for refusing to withdraw nominees against it in 29 other constituencies for the West Bengal assembly elections.
West Bengal Congress on Monday said the party should get one-third of the seats it will contest in alliance with Trinamool Congress in the state assembly polls due in May, replicating the formula adopted during the Lok Sabha polls in 2009.
Launching an attack on the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist in West Bengal, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the party of 'grabbing' crores of rupees from central funds meant for the uplift of the poor and downtrodden.
Unfazed by the accusations by a section of the Congress leadership in Bengal of dictating terms in the alliance, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has endorsed Pranab Mukherjee's statement that the tie-up for assembly elections was a political necessity.
'After a longish time being on the defensive on the Muslim issue, Mamata found in the Centre's surgical strike just the kind of battle in which she specialises -- hand-to-hand combat.' 'Having routed the once formidable Marxists by her trademark, no-holds-barred belligerence, she is now ready to employ the same tactics against the BJP,' predicts Amulya Ganguli.
The West Bengal Congress on Thursday said the Centre should caution the state over repeated violence there, but did not favour immediate imposition of President's Rule as demanded by Trinamool Congress.
Many anticipate that by the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP may come to power, says Mohammad Sajjad.
CPM politburo member Hannan Mollah said the party is facing one of the toughest situations following its defeat in Tripura, which has "forced us to rethink in a new way".
Rahul Gandhi stressed the importance of an electoral understanding in UP if the BJP is to be defeated in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Trinamool chief has so far said she will not part ways with ally BJP.
He shared a platform with West Bengal Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee, who invited him to rejoin the Congress.
Surjewala made the case for state-specific alliances while arguing for a larger coalition with like-minded parties in 'national interest'.
Union ministers fanned out across the country to highlight the crackdown on black money to mark the first anniversary of demonetisation on Wednesday which the Bharatiya Janata Party celebrated as "Anti Black Money Day" while the Congress-led Opposition observed it as "Black Day" with street protests.
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