Polling began at 7 am on Saturday for 44 seats in the fourth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections amid tight security, officials said.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village, saying the incidents cannot be compared to the savagery in Manipur.
Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were stopped by police on Friday from visiting the trouble-torn Sandeshkhali, escalating the political tensions in the state as the leaders accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of fostering a 'lawless situation' and attempting to 'communalise' the issue.
"The NIA categorically refuted allegations of mala fide in its Bhupatinagar blast case," an agency spokesperson said.
Jha, who had been on run since Wednesday when four people breached security protocol inside and outside Parliament, walked inside a police station in the New Delhi district Thursday night and is now being interrogated by a counter intelligence team, the police source said.
A TMC worker, identified as 52-year-old Jiyarul Molla, was shot dead in Phulmalancha area in Basanti in South 24 Parganas district late on Saturday night while he was returning home, a police officer said.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said notifying the rules for the CAA days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections shows the Bharatiya Janata Party is not confident about winning 400 seats in the ensuing polls.
A four-member team of the Union home ministry, tasked with looking into reasons for the post-poll violence in West Bengal, met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Raj Bhavan.
IMD Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that 'Yaas' is likely to intensify into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm by Tuesday evening and Chandbali is likely to witness the maximum damage caused by it.
The TMC has won in 34,560 gram panchayat seats, besides leading in 705 seats, according to the SEC as of 11.30 am on Wednesday.
The severe cyclonic storm, which brought in its wake heavy rain coupled with gale wind till early Sunday, uprooted hundreds of trees and snapped cables in Kolkata and in the coastal districts of North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore, bring life to a near-halt.
A poster with death threats to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, party's general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, appeared in Uluberia in West Bengal's Howrah district on Friday, police said.
The Kolkata connection of Lalit Jha sparked a political debate in the state, with West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar accusing TMC MLA Tapas Roy of being in "convenience" with Jha.
Armed with sticks, they set ablaze thatched structures near a fishing yard in Belmajur area of Sandeshkhali, venting their fury against the elusive TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his brother Siraj. The torched structure, it was revealed, belonged to Siraj.
Recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have ignited political debate in West Bengal, with the ruling TMC and opposition BJP utilizing the issue to advance their respective agendas. While the TMC emphasizes communal harmony and calls for international intervention, the BJP criticizes the TMC's inaction and links the situation to its push for the Citizenship Amendment Act. The issue has also brought other opposition parties into the fray, with all sides highlighting the interconnectedness of the region's socio-political fabric.
A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan in Kolkata before 4 pm. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 pm, despite the Calcutta high court setting a deadline of 4.15 pm.
Jahan, who was recently campaigning for TMC candidate Narayan Goswami at Guma in Ashoknagar segment, suddenly refused to take part in the roadshow notwithstanding party workers' fervent pleas to stay back.
Police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the crowd.
The court noted that no appreciable steps have been taken ever since an order was passed by it on June 13 to deploy central forces in sensitive areas for the poll process.
The case has been handed over to the state CID from Baguiati police station under Bidhannagar police commissionerate, the official said.
The rear windscreen of a car carrying Rahul Gandhi was damaged during the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', with West Bengal unit president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleging that the vehicle was "pelted with stones" in Malda district, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the incident took place in adjoining Bihar.
A large voter turnout of more than 80 per cent despite sporadic incidents of violence and allegations of vote fraud on Thursday marked the second phase of West Bengal assembly polls.
A Trinamool Congress leader was stabbed to death at a market in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Thursday morning, following which locals caught one of the assailants and lynched him on the spot, the police said.
Trinamool Congress leader Arabul Islam, accused of throwing a jug at a lady professor, on Monday surrendered before a district court which granted him bail.
One person was killed and six others were injured in a clash between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal's Birbhum district, police said.
Banerjee said there is no video footage or any other proof to substantiate claims of the central forces.
Under the stewardship of the then TMC national general secretary Mukul Roy and North 24 Parganas TMC district president Jyotipriyo Mullick, he joined the party and quickly ascended in power, becoming a close associate of Mullick.
A controversy has broken out after young girls danced in skimpy clothes at a Trinamool Congress foundation day function at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district with a TMC leader allegedly throwing wads of currency notes at them.
The Eastern Railway has cancelled the departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express for Wednesday.
Over 200 houses were damaged, scores of people were rendered homeless and nine persons were injured as storms lashed pockets of three districts of West Bengal since last night.
"I have been congratulated many times for scoring goals but I could never imagine that I will shake hands with the biggest cricket star," Goalpi said, beaming with excitement after getting a prized selfie with Tendulkar.
The court directed the state police to transfer all records and CCTV footage relating to the matter to the central government within two weeks.
Three persons, including two supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF), were killed and several policemen injured in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district as a clash broke out outside a centre where counting of votes for rural polls was going on, police said on Wednesday.
Justice Jay Sengupta directed that the probe will be monitored by it and the SIT will file a progress report of the investigation on February 12, the next date of hearing in the case.
Around seventy seven per cent voting was recorded in the third phase of West Bengal assembly polls in 75 seats covering Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas districts on Wednesday.
Union minister Mukul Roy's son Subhranshu Roy, a Trinamool candidate, was on Sunday arrested by police in North 24 Parganas district after absconding since Tuesday after a first information report was filed by the Election Commission against him and others for allegedly assaulting its team members.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday met Ganguly to discuss various issues and agreed to visit Eden Gardens on his invitation.
West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Friday said that political violence in the state must come to an end, after visiting Bhangore, where supporters of two political parties clashed a day before leaving three dead.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party might conduct the Lok Sabha polls in December itself, claiming that all choppers have been booked by the saffron party for campaigning.
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