Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has returned to Kolkata after nearly 19 years, describing the visit as an emotional homecoming to a city she still considers her own, ahead of a literary event that has acquired political resonance under West Bengal's new BJP government.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has urged the Congress and CPI(M) to set aside their differences and unite under the INDIA bloc to fight the BJP in West Bengal. This marks a significant shift in the TMC's stance, which has historically been a bitter rival to the Congress and Left in the state.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced a fresh investigation into the 2024 rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The decision follows a request from the victim's mother, now a BJP MLA, and includes a separate probe into alleged cremation irregularities. Adhikari criticised previous police handling and vowed to ensure justice, despite a CBI investigation having already led to a conviction.
The renewed rush comes days after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that West Bengal would aggressively implement a 'detect, delete and deport' policy against infiltrators.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed BJP workers after the party's performance in assembly elections, urging an end to political violence in West Bengal and a focus on the state's future.
The BJP experienced a mixed bag of results in the West Bengal Assembly elections, with several heavyweight candidates securing victories while others faced defeat. Key wins included Dilip Ghosh, Suvendu Adhikari, and others, but some prominent faces failed to win.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has criticised the deployment of CRPF armoured vehicles during the Assembly elections, accusing the BJP-led Centre of using government resources to favour their party. She also addressed concerns of potato farmers and urged them to sell their produce in other states.
A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a detailed constituency-wise disclosure of disenfranchisement caused by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The Calcutta High Court dismissed a plea challenging the Election Commission's directive to deploy central government and PSU employees for vote counting in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has secured its first seat in the Bihar Assembly, with Kishor winning the Bankipur bypoll in his electoral debut, stunning the BJP in its long-held bastion.
Exit polls suggest significant shifts in Indian state assembly elections, forecasting BJP gains in West Bengal and Assam, a DMK comeback in Tamil Nadu, and a tight race in Kerala.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament for 2026 is scheduled from July 20 to August 13, with significant political developments expected following recent assembly poll results and internal party rebellions. The session will see the ruling NDA's strengthened position in the Rajya Sabha and potential redrafting of a key Constitution amendment bill.
Apart from Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the Barasat MP, those attending the meeting included TMC MLAs Anisur Rahaman Biswas of Deganga, Bina Mondal of Swarupnagar, Mohammad Abdul Matin of Haroa and three more legislators from the Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district.
Three former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MPs, including Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday and, within hours, were named the saffron party's candidates for the Rajya Sabha bypolls from West Bengal, underlining both their political rehabilitation and the party's calibrated shift in inducting leaders from the erstwhile ruling dispensation.
BJP witnessed steady growth in crorepati MLAs between 2016 and 2026.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the BJP's manifesto for West Bengal, promising a Uniform Civil Code, a Bengali chief minister, and improved governance.
Sweet shops across West Bengal are preparing themed sweets in anticipation of the election results, reflecting the charged political atmosphere.
'You don't win elections on the basis of borrowed players.' 'There is a great crisis of leadership for the BJP in Bengal'
The BJP which won only three seats in the last assembly election is looking confident to make inroads is Mamata's den.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared jhalmuri with NDA leaders at the Bharat Mandapam conclave, bringing the popular Bengali snack back into the political spotlight. This act revived memories of his West Bengal election campaign where a jhalmuri break became a political talking point and a subtle jab at the Trinamool Congress.
Speculation about a possible rapprochement or merger between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has exposed deep divisions within the Congress's West Bengal unit, with senior state leaders vocally opposing any alliance with Mamata Banerjee.
Less than two months after ending the TMC's 15-year rule in the state, the BJP government is expected to table one of its most ambitious and politically sensitive promises, setting the stage for what could become the first major ideological confrontation of the post-election period.
Ten days after the expansion of the BJP government's cabinet in West Bengal, key portfolios have been allocated, with senior leader Tapas Roy taking charge of industries and journalist-turned-politician Swapan Dasgupta appointed finance minister.
After completing a power-packed schedule of four back-to-back rallies in Purulia, Jhargram, Medinipur and Bishnupur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen unwinding in a light-hearted moment as he relished West Bengal's popular street snack "Jhalmuri" near a small local shop.
West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on Thursday saw a massive voter participation during the ongoing assembly elections, with turnout reaching 89.93 per cent and 82.24 per cent respectively by 5 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.
The mother of the RG Kar hospital rape-murder victim on Monday rejected Trinamool Congres MLA Kunal Ghosh's comparison between the Rs 10 lakh given to the family of a party worker who died in police custody in Halisahar, and the same amount of compensation announced after her daughter's death.
Incidents of violence and vandalism were reported from parts of West Bengal during the early hours of voting in the second phase of the assembly elections on Wednesday, police said. The incidents were reported from multiple locations, including Chapra, Shantipur, Nimtala and Bhangar, they said.
The high-pitched campaign for the first phase of West Bengal assembly elections concluded with the BJP and TMC focusing on electoral rolls and dietary habits, while making promises to voters. Voting is scheduled in 152 constituencies across north Bengal and southern districts, with over 3.60 crore electors eligible to vote. A record number of Central paramilitary forces have been deployed, and several districts have been identified as highly sensitive.
'In West Bengal, the BJP's ideology of Hindutva will be customised to cater to the culture and the cultural imperatives of Bengalis.'
Political tensions are escalating in Uttar Pradesh as Samajwadi Party leaders strongly refute Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar's assertions of an impending split within the SP.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant at counting centres, alleging a 'game plan' by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the BJP taking an early lead.
Suvendu Adhikari has been elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in West Bengal, paving the way for him to become the state's first BJP chief minister.
Trinamool Congress offices across West Bengal were allegedly defaced and damaged following the BJP's victory in the Assembly polls, with the TMC alleging BJP involvement, which the BJP denies.
A new report indicates a rise in 'red alert' constituencies in the West Bengal Assembly elections, with a significant number of candidates facing criminal charges.
The BJP is showing strong leads in West Bengal and Assam, while actor Vijay's party is making a significant debut in Tamil Nadu. The Congress is ahead in Kerala, offering some consolation amid the changing political landscape in the state elections.
Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Sunday said two more parliamentarians were set to join the dissident group, which would take its strength in the Lok Sabha to 22.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with Trinamool Congress counting agents in Bhabanipur ahead of the vote count for the assembly election. The meeting aimed to ensure agents are well-prepared and updated on the counting process.
Six Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, were suspended from the West Bengal assembly over staging protests in the House in view of unrest in Sandeshkhali.
Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has sensationally claimed a major split is imminent within the Samajwadi Party, with many leaders reportedly ready to defect to the BJP, a claim vehemently denied by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
West Bengal's Bharatiya Janata Party government has moved to institutionalise its "detect, delete and deport" policy by directing all district administrations to set up "holding centres" for suspected illegal foreigners and foreign prisoners awaiting repatriation -- a step that appeared to give administrative shape to one of the party's most potent political themes in the state.
