The BJP's landslide victory in West Bengal has not merely redrawn the electoral map but overturned the operating logic of politics in the state, breaching the TMC's entrenched fortress despite a decade-and-a-half of dominance, minority consolidation, and a sustained "outsider" narrative.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package.
'In the (election) affidavit, he had declared Rs 1,400 crores as his assets. He has educational institutions, real estate, malls, etc.'
The West Bengal cabinet has approved the formation of two panels headed by retired judges to investigate alleged institutional corruption and atrocities against women and children during the previous TMC regime.
The Congress-led UDF has swept back to power in Kerala, sparking celebrations and discussions about forming the new government. Senior leaders are vying for the Chief Minister's post, while the defeated CPI(M)-led LDF grapples with the reasons for their loss after 10 years in power.
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.
In the recent Bangladesh elections, four minority candidates, including two Hindus, secured parliamentary seats, highlighting the evolving political landscape and representation of minority communities within the BNP's victory.
Rule of law prevents a government, brought to power by the strength of ballots, from betraying the trust of citizens and "lapsing into a government of caprice, nepotism and finally despotism", the Supreme Court said on Thursday.
A woman in Goa has been booked for allegedly concealing her Portuguese nationality and fraudulently enrolling in the voter list.
The TVK has ended the nearly six-decade dominance of DMK and AIADMK in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, securing 108 out of 234 constituencies in its debut, but falls short of the 118 seats needed for an absolute majority, prompting discussions on coalition options and the governor's role.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that Bangladeshi infiltrators detained in the state will be directly handed over to the BSF for deportation, bypassing court appearances, following a new rule.
Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer has ordered a thorough verification of nearly 1 million voter deletions following complaints of wrongful removals, particularly concerning deceased voters and those who may have shifted residences.
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have been fiscally stressed for a considerable period of time, and there are no easy ways to mobilise revenues to meet the cost of the promised freebies, particularly in the prevailing difficult economic scenario, points out M Govinda Rao.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah sharpened the BJP's campaign for the West Bengal assembly polls, releasing a 'charge sheet' against the TMC government and framing the election as a battle for the country's security.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut announced a joint squad with MNS to 'thrash' dual and bogus voters during the upcoming civic polls, raising concerns about potential violence.
The VCK party, led by Thol Thirumavalavan, will announce its official position on supporting Vijay's TVK in forming the government. The decision follows discussions regarding power-sharing and key positions within the new government.
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 delimitation in Assam has quietly changed the political scene, raising questions about whether new constituency boundaries helped the BJP by spreading out Muslim-majority voters.
The TMC has written to the Election Commission alleging procedural irregularities in the scrutiny of nomination papers of BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate Rahul Sinha, claiming discrepancies in his election affidavit were overlooked.
Courts cannot be the only hope for those fighting hate speech. Countering its effects on the ground takes more effort. With our political parties unwilling to put in that amount of effort, it's left to citizens to do so, points out Jyoti Punwani.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to hold a dharna in Kolkata against alleged arbitrary deletions in the state's electoral rolls, marking a return to her roots as a street fighter and signalling a key political battle ahead of Assembly elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised to resolve the decades-old Gorkha issue within six months if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, addressing a rally in Kurseong, Darjeeling district.
The Election Commission has released the final electoral roll for Tamil Nadu, revealing a significant decrease in the number of voters due to deletions and new additions.
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.
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.
The electorate did not vote for the BJP as much as they voted against the TMC. This is an important distinction that the new government will ignore at its own peril, points out Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
A significant 7.87 per cent increase in the BJP's vote share in West Bengal, reaching 45.84 per cent, propelled the party to secure an additional 130 assembly seats, bringing their total to 207, while the Trinamool Congress experienced a 7.22 per cent decline, losing 135 seats and falling to 80.
'The nepotism, corruption, bad governance and 15 years of rampant crime that has happened across West Bengal under her rule led to her ouster.'
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has accused the BJP of misusing democratic institutions and stoking communal discord in Bengal, criticising their 'double engine' governance model.
A referendum on the implementation of a reform package in Bangladesh saw a 60.26 per cent voter turnout, with the 'yes' vote winning a clear majority, the Election Commission announced.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with TMC counting agents to prepare for the vote counting of the assembly elections.
Legal experts suggest West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should resign following her party's defeat in the assembly elections, or face potential dismissal by the governor.
The State Election Commission will adopt the voters' list of the assembly elections for civic polls, the Bombay high court was told on Tuesday, while hearing a plea by an 18-year-old woman who claimed her application to enrol as a voter after she turned 18 in April 2025 was not accepted.
When the margin of victory is less than the number of postal ballot papers rejected, all such rejected postal ballot papers shall be mandatorily re-verified before declaration of the result.
The BJP's West Bengal unit chief, Samik Bhattacharya, has alleged that at least five farmers have died by suicide in the state since February due to a potato price crisis, accusing the TMC government of negligence.
Bangladesh will hold general elections on February 12, 2026, the first since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. A referendum on reform proposals will be held simultaneously.
Nepal's Rastriya Swatantra Party is surging ahead in the general elections after Gen Z protests ousted the previous government, signaling a potential new era in Nepali politics.
The Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, has stated that the primary goal of the Election Commission is to ensure all voters in West Bengal can participate in the upcoming assembly elections without violence or intimidation.
The Congress party is seeking one Rajya Sabha seat in Jharkhand from the JMM and plans to discuss the matter with Chief Minister Hemant Soren, according to AICC Jharkhand in-charge K Raju.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has surged past the halfway mark in the West Bengal assembly elections, leading in 185 seats against the Trinamool Congress's 91, signalling a potential political shift in the state. Early trends suggest a geographically split mandate, with the BJP gaining in border, tribal, and industrial regions, while the TMC holds ground in parts of Kolkata and select rural strongholds.
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