Over 84 lakh voters in West Bengal will decide the political fate of 283 candidates on Thursday, when 35 assembly constituencies go to polls in the eighth and final phase, amid a raging second wave of Covid-19.
Families spread across the nation bid their final goodbyes to the soldiers killed in hand-to-hand fighting with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan area. People gathered in large numbers to attend the last rites of the soldiers.
Eight persons died in the early hours of Tuesday after their houses caught fire at Rampurhat in Birbhum district, police said.
Dhankhar in his letter claimed that the state of governance in the state was 'cliff hanging' and had been further strained by the barbarity witnessed in the Birbhum killings.
Voting is being held at 11,860 polling stations spread over 11 assembly constituencies each in Murshidabad and Birbhum, six in Malda and seven in north Kolkata.
The Calcutta high court has ordered breaking of locks of some hostel rooms of Visva Bharati University to facilitate students whose semester examinations are scheduled to commence from March 11.
At least 22 more people succumbed to the infection, raising the toll in the state to 10,480.
Shah accused the ruling TMC in Bengal of "spreading canards" about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday stirred a controversy by saying that she has every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess, as every person has the right to worship god and goddess in his or her own way.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the state received investment proposals worth Rs 3.42 lakh crore during this year's business summit. Addressing the valedictory session of the Bengal Global Business Summit, she said that a total of 137 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Letters of Intent (LoI) were signed for the investments. Banerjee also said that the summit would create 40 lakh new jobs across sectors.
'Shri Pranab Mukherjee's health condition continues to remain critical. Presently he is haemodynamically stable and on a ventilator,' a statement from the hospital said.
The ruling Trinamool Congress slammed Ghosh for his comments and asked him to direct his attention to BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, where the 'rule of law has ceased to exist'.
Ninety coins in the denomination of Rs 5 and Rs 10 and ornaments like chains, nose rings, earrings, bangles, anklets, wrist bands and watches were found from the stomach of the 26-year-old.
As many as 725 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be deployed in West Bengal for the conduct of forthcoming assembly elections, CRPF chief Kuldiep Singh said on Thursday.
The amended Act has put the entire Northeast region and West Bengal on the boil as people fear that it might exacerbate the problem of illegal immigration.
Protests were held in different parts of Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah, Birbhum, South 24 Parganas, Jalpaiguri districts, and Trinamool Congress supporters briefly blocked roads in some areas.
The vandalism at the prestigious university, founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, has snowballed into a major political row, after some ruling TMC supporters and varsity authorities filed police complaints against each other.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to deploy 125 companies of central forces in West Bengal by February 25 for the ensuing assembly elections, a senior official said on Friday.
The Election Commission is considering advancing the polls by a month to avoid the May heat, reports R Rajagopalan.
She called on all "progressive forces" to join hands to fight the "oppressive BJP regime".
The EC has deployed 580 companies of central forces to man over 98 per cent of the polling booths in these constituencies to ensure free and fair polling.
From the dusty lanes of Mirati, life took the scholar politician to the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan through a warren of powerful offices he held, but the village stuck, the bond only grew stronger.
According to BJP insiders, every Union minister has been given 3-4 seats to mentor and has been told to work hard on these constituencies in the next 20 months to ensure the party's victory.
Senior TMC leader Subrata Mukherjee sought to know if it was an attempt by the BJP to divert attention from 'the historic launch' of the ruling party's report card.
'Covid or no Covid, I knew I had made the right decision (calls from my bank to extend the much touted loans offered by Ms Sitharaman, notwithstanding),' says Keya Sarkar.
Shah vowed to restore the state to its old glory when it was called "sonar Bangla" (Bengal of gold) if the BJP is voted to power.
The 55-year-old actor-turned-politician admitted that due to the hectic schedule of the shooting, she "did not get to watch the series" on television.
'The last three phases, the Trinamool gained more than expected due to Covid mismanagement by the Centre.'
>The BJP's star campaigner could not help even half the number of candidates for whom he campaigned in his aggressive 'Didi-o-Didi' style in Bengal
Abhijit said he was in touch with Mamata and her nephew Abhishek before the assembly polls.
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shyamapada Mondal waded into controversy by calling Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee a 'eunuch' and accused her of practicing politics of appeasement. "Today you cannot understand whether Mamata Banerjee is a female or a male... I'd say she has become a 'hijra' (eunuch)," he said.
Six persons, including a woman, were killed and 18 were injured in violence and CRPF firing in the fourth phase of the West Bengal panchayat elections on Monday. Polling in four districts saw a voter turnout of 25 per cent.
Addressing an election rally on Friday, Mannan said he would take care of the people for the entire year, but would want them to vote for him and his party.
Rediff.com's Indrani Roy visits Pranab Mukherjee's ancestral home in Miriti, Birbhum district. India's President arrived here on Saturday to perform Durga Puja
Muslims across the country have joined the agitation, apprehending that the move could be a precursor to a country-wide NRC.
The brewing discontentment in the party may adversely impact the TMC's prospects in the next assembly polls due in April-May next year.
Four days after Trinamool Congress heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the state cabinet, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee and election strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday met him, following which the party claimed that 'all the issues have been resolved'.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday took stock of the COVID-19 situation in the state, shortly after her swearing-in ceremony, and announced fresh curbs to combat the spread of COVID-19, including suspension of local train services.
The National Investigation Agency on Saturday arrested Abdul Mazeed Momin, an absconder, in connection with the Burdwan blast, taking the total number of arrested persons to 17.