Paes had joined the Trinamool Congress in 2021 and campaigned for the party during the Goa elections in 2022.
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is undergoing interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged primary school recruitment scam. The ED is focusing on the money trail, financial documents, and statements from other accused, following a prior questioning session by the state CID on a separate forgery case.
What began with an apparently chance encounter between rebel TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Banga Bhavan on May 22 ended on Wednesday with 58 MLAs wresting control of the party's legislature wing, electing Ritabrata as their leader and securing recognition from the assembly Speaker.
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has declared that removing the BJP from power is her life's mission, alleging election rigging and vowing to support TMC workers. She announced a nationwide anti-BJP programme and protested against post-poll violence and government actions.
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said members of the INDIA bloc were likely to meet in the first week of June to discuss a joint strategy, while asserting that the opposition camp was prepared for a prolonged political battle.
Top leaders of opposition parties including Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC's Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, besides Left leaders and those from smaller parties, are likely to attend the meeting at the Constitution Club in the national capital.
Political parties in West Bengal react to the Election Commission's reshuffle of senior administrative and police officials ahead of upcoming elections, with TMC criticising the move and BJP and CPI(M) welcoming it.
Last time, assembly polls in West Bengal were held in eight phases -- by far the maximum. In Assam, elections were held in two phases, and in a singular phase in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
The appointment of Kerala's Chief Electoral Officer as the Chief Minister's secretary has ignited a political firestorm, raising questions about election credibility and sparking accusations of hypocrisy among political parties.
Rahul Gandhi accuses Mamata Banerjee of not directly fighting the BJP, alleging that this indirect approach benefits the ruling party. He also criticised her government's performance on job creation and handling of corruption.
By asking Vijay to produce letters of majority support before inviting him to form the government, the governor risks overstepping established Constitutional principles, notes Harishchandra.
Senior Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee has issued an ultimatum to party chief Mamata Banerjee, asking her to choose between him and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, whom he blames for the party's recent turmoil. This comes as the TMC faces significant internal strife, including multiple Rajya Sabha MP resignations and claims of widespread defection among MLAs and MPs.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has accused the Congress party of indirectly supporting the BJP in West Bengal, urging voters to reject them in the upcoming elections. He alleged a nexus between the Congress, BJP, and Left parties, claiming that votes for Congress would split the opposition and benefit the BJP.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there are some parties that have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting for their own reasons.
Here are the constituency-wise mapped leads/results for the West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu assembly elections!
Suvendu Adhikari's rise within the BJP in West Bengal has been marked by strategic victories and relentless opposition to the TMC, culminating in his leadership role within the party's legislative wing.
Under the TMC, Bengal has seen expansion of welfare, but not big-ticket private investment.
West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury on Thursday said that around 4,000 EVMs were gutted in a government building fire in Kolkata, as the police launched an investigation following the registration of an FIR in connection with the incident.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared that the TMC will proceed with its planned sit-in protest against alleged attacks on party leaders and workers, as well as the Railways' hawker eviction drive, despite the police denying permission for the event.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee criticised the BJP for not fulfilling its promises, highlighting the continuation of West Bengal's welfare schemes and challenging the BJP to match them in their ruled states.
The NIA has declared former TMC MLA Saokat Molla absconding in connection with the Bhangar blast case in West Bengal, intensifying searches and alerting border agencies to prevent his escape. Three arrests have been made in the case, with Molla identified as a prime suspect.
The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal of inciting post-poll violence by disguising its workers as BJP supporters. The BJP asserts its cadres have never engaged in violence after election victories and claims the TMC is acting out of frustration after suffering a crushing defeat in the assembly polls.
Indian equities on Dalal Street saw volatility as global market trends and weak rupee impacted investor sentiment. Track Sensex, Nifty50 movement and key market drivers for May 5, 2026.
The National Investigation Agency on Friday night arrested former Trinamool Congress MLA Saokat Molla, the prime suspect in the Bhangar blast case, from West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, hours after declaring him as 'absconding'.
A BJP and a Trinamool Congress worker were killed in separate incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal on Tuesday, police said.
After being wrongly deported and labelled as Bangladeshis, migrant workers in West Bengal's Murshidabad are heading to the polls to reclaim their Indian identity and fight for their right to belong.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah accuses the West Bengal government of openly facilitating infiltration, defends the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists, and asserts BJP's prospects in upcoming elections.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee has commented on the Supreme Court judgment regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, emphasising its specific application to the Bihar case and highlighting the Election Commission's limited authority in determining citizenship.
An FIR has been lodged against former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly hurting religious sentiments based on a complaint by a lawyer.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has alleged that the BJP's "real and ultimate target" in seeking a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha is to amend the Constitution to end reservation, rather than genuinely implement women's reservation.
As results of the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry are declared, here's how the big names fared.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami criticised the Trinamool Congress' governance in West Bengal, citing issues such as increased infiltration, corruption, and atrocities against women during a rally in Hingalganj.
Indian tennis icon Leander Paes has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marking a significant transition from his celebrated sports career to the political arena, ahead of assembly elections in West Bengal.
The Election Commission has ordered a repoll in all 285 polling booths of the Falta assembly constituency in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on May 21 due to electoral offences.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of manipulating voter rolls to divide the state, alleging a conspiracy to deprive Bengali-speaking people of their voting rights. She claims the Election Commission is complicit in deleting lakhs of names from voter lists.
The Election Commission suspended three central armed police force personnel after a video surfaced showing them playing carrom inside a Trinamool Congress office in West Bengal. A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the matter.
A review of the accuracy of various exit polls in predicting the outcomes of recent assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu, highlighting the performance of different pollsters.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has accused the TMC government in West Bengal of jeopardising national security through appeasement politics and allowing infiltration, framing the upcoming election as crucial for the country's security.
BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty has criticised the West Bengal government over high fuel taxes and alleged security lapses, particularly concerning women's safety and border control.
Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty experienced a decline due to renewed geopolitical concerns in the Strait of Hormuz, a strained US-Iran ceasefire, and the rupee hitting a record low against the US dollar.
