'It doesn't help to transpose the Hindi heartland model on Bengal. Bengalis don't understand its dynamics. They won't comprehend the impact of Modi's dip in the Ganga because Bengal's political culture is different. Even in the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrams, Christ is worshipped on Christmas. It's difficult to polarise Bengal religiously'
Congress President Sonia Gandhi will not be attending the swearing-in of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as West Bengal Chief Minister in Kolkata on Friday.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has now set Thursday evening as the deadline for the Congress to reach a seat sharing agreement for the forthcoming West Bengal state assembly polls. Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee met Mamata late on Tuesday to resolve last-minute differences. Ahmed Patel, Gandhi's political secretary, called Mamata and asked her to wait till March 21, when the Congress president returns from London. But she has turned down the request.
Chakraborty, an ardent trade unionist and a former Rajya Sabha member, was admitted to the hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 on July 30.
In his letter, Singh hinted since the Central Public Works Department's tableau already featured Bose, West Bengal's float was not included for the parade, without saying it in so many words.
Observing that there are "definite and proved" allegations that complaints of the victims of violence in the aftermath of the West Bengal assembly polls were not even registered, the Calcutta high court on Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into all alleged cases of heinous crimes like rape and murder, while accepting the recommendations of a National Human Rights Commission panel.
'They are our go-to men, our trouble-shooters.' 'They draw their strength from remaining low-key and accessible only to our workers.'
Trinamool Congress on Saturday removed Mukul Roy, a former confidante of Mamata Banerjee, from the key post of party general secretary.
"If you show us (threaten us with) ED, we will also send proof against BJP leaders to the agency. A section of BJP ministers and leaders is hand in glove with the coal mafia. They even stayed at hotels run by them during elections," she said.
The development set off a slugfest, with the RSS' official twitter handle alleging that it was done to "appease jihadi elements
Jayanta Roy Chowdhury reports on how the West Bengal elections are being fought by the BJP and Trinalool Congress amid COVID challenges, 'Bangaliana', and campaigns based on religion, region, and caste.
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Rahul Gandhi's experiment of choosing Congress candidates for Lok Sabha polls through the 'primary' system appears to have suffered initial hiccups with two constituencies being dropped from the list of 16.
Rajeev Kumar, the Kolkata police commissioner, is known for his impeccable investigating and electronic surveillance skills.
It will be the year of preparation for the electoral test in Uttar Pradesh, due in 2022. But before that, the West Bengal Assembly election will set the mood for the rest of 2021.
In power, Mamata Banerjee has tried to bury the ghost of the past, but it might still be work-in-progress. Big-ticket and eye-grabbing (in terms of investment size) projects are still few and far between, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
With his exit, the TMC will lose a crucial, politically influential vote catcher in the Jungalmahal region and areas in minority-dominated Murshidabad, and the BJP will get a face it badly needs, especially in rural Bengal, reports Aditi Phadnis.
If the BJP wins Bengal, would Kishor's indiscretions have played a significant role in that victory? Victory for the TMC would be another badge of honour in his CV, but defeat would raise an unsavoury question: Which party was Kishor actually working for? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that at least 72 people have died due to Cyclone Amphan and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the affected districts and provide help to 'rebuild those areas from scratch'
Alleging that there had been politicisation and criminalisation of government officers in the state, the BJP leader, who was on a two-day visit, said the TMC government had stopped sending crime statistics to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) after 2018.
Nandigram, 126 km south of Kolkata, is Suvendu Adhikari's bastion, where he has vowed to defeat Mamata Banerjee by 50,000 votes or quit politics.
'Mamata has used minorities only as her vote bank.' 'In her entire election campaign Mamata did not utter a single sentence against the RSS.'
As electoral sails shift in the dynamic political winds of West Bengal, two factors may still change the electoral equations are how the BJP fares this time and how Muslims are going to vote. Mayank Mishra reports.
He was suffering from lung cancer for last several months, West Bengal CPI secretary Swapan Banerjee said.
In a post on Twitter on Wednesday, the 28-year-old also named the Janata Dal-United as a client during the 2010 Bihar elections and brought up some caste surveys carried out in Uttar Pradesh by SCL India -- the parent company of CA.
So how is it going to affect the common citizen?
Leaders across the political spectrum, social activists and top jurists on Tuesday hailed the landmark Supreme Court verdict banning the practice of instant divorce among Muslims.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
The leaders of non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties and the media bodies also demanded immediate withdrawal of the order imposing the blackout on November 9.
As their parties are locked in a fierce battle for Bengal, Tathagata and Saugata Roy, siblings who belong to the BJP and the TMC respectively, answer the same questions put to them about the assembly election.
It had earlier questioned both the companies on the impact of the data breach, following which Facebook had admitted that nearly 5.62 lakh people in India were "potentially affected" by the incident.
'I could have joined the BJP in 2014, the doors were open.' 'I stayed on with the TMC, a party I was involved with since its very inception.' 'But today enough is enough.'
The Congress vice president said Bengal which was once industrious has turned into a "graveyard" in Trinamool Congress's rule.
Can Mamata Banerjee unite the Opposition?
According to the draft, in the northeastern states the threshold is at Rs 500,000.
Terming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's call for a Federal Front as a "ploy" to increase her bargaining power with Congress and BJP before the 2014 polls, the Left parties feel it cannot be successful without a common minimum programme.
'Who are these people on the streets?' 'They are youth and students who were hoodwinked, bluffed by Modi for the last seven years, with a promise of 2 crore jobs every year.' 'And Mamata sings the same tune.' 'But the youth can see that as long as there is Mamata or Modi, there is no hope.'
10 central trade unions have called a nationwide shutdown against 'anti-worker policies' of the central government. Apart from being successful in Bengal, Kerala and NE states, the bandh has also got support from Cong leader Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
The state government will review the lockdown situation in Guwahati after seven days from the enforcement of the restrictions.
Over 20 political parties, except the Biju Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front, took part in the massive rally.
'The police is there to protect Indian citizens, but now we have cops entering the hospitals and ransacking even the ICUs.'
