Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has refuted claims by the TMC that the BJP would ban meat and fish consumption if it wins the West Bengal assembly elections. Sarma clarified that only beef consumption is restricted in Assam and accused the TMC of wanting to continue cattle smuggling to Bangladesh for their own benefit.
The delimitation of constituencies, which aimed to reduce the influence of minority candidates, is a significant factor in the NDA's strong performance in the Assam elections, where they secured a record 102 seats. The 2023 delimitation exercise redrew constituencies, reserving some Muslim-majority seats for indigenous communities, which increased the BJP and its allies' seat count.
While the total number of assembly seats remains unchanged at 126, the redrawing of boundaries has reshaped voter composition across constituencies -- a shift that is likely to influence electoral outcomes in the years ahead.
'The next five years are crucial because Assam, West Bengal and Bihar are either governed by or politically aligned with the BJP.' 'This gives us a strong platform to take decisive steps to secure our borders.'
The 2026 election appears to have reinforced a new political formula in Assam: Strong organisation, continuous grassroots engagement, effective alliance management and welfare-based voter outreach.
Indian Customs officials have arrested five individuals from West Bengal and Assam for their involvement in smuggling high-end used cars from Bhutan. The investigation revealed a widespread network of forged documents and illegal vehicle registrations.
Islam was among nine persons arrested by Morigaon police on May 24 in a crackdown on illegal immigrants declared by the Foreigners' Tribunal, but who had been evading deportation.
Eight persons have been killed in floods and landslides in Assam as incessant rainfall caused massive inundation in 17 districts, affecting over 78,000 people, officials said on Saturday.
In a record turnout, more than 90 per cent voters exercised their franchise in 14 constituencies in Assam in the second and final phase of just concluded assembly polls.
The government has constructed the first dedicated centre at Matia in Goalpara district to put the suspected and declared foreigners found in Assam.
The decision to repeal the Act was taken at a late-night cabinet meeting on Friday as it is an obsolete pre-Independence Act of the British for the then province of Assam, the CM said.
The flood situation in Assam deteriorated on Thursday with one more person losing his life and nearly 7.18 lakh people in 27 districts remaining affected by the deluge, an official bulletin said.
A blast in New Jaipaiguri in West Bengal has killed four persons and injured seven. The police and the Intelligence Bureau are suspecting the involvement of the dreaded Inter-Services Intelligence funded, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation. The powerful bomb was planted on a cycle.
In the last 24 hours, eight people have died after drowning in flood waters -- two each in Barpeta and Karimganj districts, one each in Darrang, Hailakandi, Nalbari and Sonitpur districts and eight people are still missing.
Of the deceased, five were from West Bengal, two each from Jharkhand and neighbouring Assam and one from Mizoram's Lunglei district, the official said.
Two more died in the state today. With this, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslide has gone up to 115 across the state -- 89 were killed in flood-related incidents and 26 in landslides.
With two more deaths, the fatalities due to flood this year has gone up to 18.
Dhubri is the worst hit with over 8.72 lakh people affected, followed by Barpeta with more than 4.78 lakh people and Goalpara with around 4.28 lakh population.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, was completely withdrawn in Meghalaya in 2018, Tripura in 2015 and Mizoram in the 1980s.
The bomb was noticed on Tuesday night by a member of the audience inside the hall at Ambari in West Goalpara during the interval. The hall authorities then halted the film's screening and informed the police.
The total number of people killed in flooding and landslides in the state this year has gone up to 76. While 50 people were killed in inundation, 26 died due to landslides.
With the fresh fatalities, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslides across the state has gone up to 42.
Six ULFA anti-talk insurgents were apprehended with arms and ammunition by a joint Army and Meghalaya police team in Meghalaya along Assam border, a defence officer said in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Assam has instructed its bordering districts to keep a tight vigil and not to allow poultry products from the neighbouring West Bengal, where an outbreak of avian influenza has been reported.
Currently, the Brahmaputra at Guwahati, Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara and Dhubri towns, while the Barak at AP Ghat in Cachar and Badarpurghat in Karimganj are flowing above the danger mark.
According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, one person was killed at Sissibargaon in Dhemaji district on Saturday.
More than 39.8 lakh people in 27 of the 33 districts in the state were affected by the deluge on Thursday.
'Expect very heavy rainfall at some places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar along with sub-Himalayan West Bengal comprising of Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, including Sikkim, parts of Arunachal Pradesh, and parts of lower Assam, Rangia downward like Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri along with parts of Meghalaya.'
The Assam police have arrested six people for having links with jihadi elements in the Dhubri sector of western Assam along the India-Bangladesh border.
The fifth president's nephew, 55-year-old Jiauddin Ahmed, his wife Akima Begum and sons Habib Ali Ahmed and Wajed Ali Ahmed are residents of Kalamoni Barhampur near Rangia in Kamrup district.
Each of Assam's border disputes has its own legacy of claims and counter-claims:
In Assam, nearly 27.80 lakh people across 26 districts have been affected by the deluge. The deaths were reported from the Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Morigaon districts. The death toll due to floods and landslides this year has risen to 122.
Kopin Chandra Boro, a senior Congress leader, is the second ex-minister from Meghalaya, after the NCP's Adolf Marak, to have been arrested for colluding with militants.
The UNICEF said an estimated 2.4 million children have been affected by the recent floods in the country.
With these states imposing lockdowns anew, the health ministry emphasised that the restrictions should be utilised to focus on containment, surveillance and testing in the containment and buffer zones as the key strategy for early detection of cases and fatality management.
'You are working with the best of the lot.' 'The best part is that they treat you equally, unlike in India.'
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
In the event of a Chinese attack on Arunachal, troops and equipment from mainland India will travel on the existing south bank railway till Bogibeel, cross the Brahmaputra on the new bridge and then head further east on the Strategic Rail-Road Link, once it is ready.
The flood situation eased in Assam and northern districts of West Bengal with water receding and no fresh deaths being reported in both the states.
Bibek Debroy highlights the importance of the Assam Rail Link Project.
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