Security measures have been heightened in view of the violence in the previous phases, particularly the death of five people in Cooch Behar in the fourth phase of polling on April 10, an Election Commission official said.
'With sufficient gaps between polling dates, the BJP will have time to convert the 'fence-sitter' votes,' observes Payal Mohanka.
Interestingly, the Muslim representation in West Bengal assembly has dropped this time when compared to what it was in 2016, even as members of the community voted en masse for the Mamata Banerjee camp.
The West Bengal government has taken a serious note of the situation in certain areas under the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, including Bhatpara, which has witnessed a series of clashes since May 19, when the bypoll was held in the assembly constituency.
A police complaint was filed by the Trinamool Congress in Siliguri for the comments Hazra made at a party programme in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas on Sunday evening. "Our workers are fighting a bigger enemy than corona. They are fighting Mamata Banerjee. When they (BJP cadres) have been able to fight it out against Mamata Banerjee without a mask, they think they can also fight against COVID-19 without wearing a mask," Hazra said.
The MHA asked the Bengal government to maintain law and order, peace and public tranquility.
Party leaders are being forced to bite the tongue while answering queries on cut money and alleged arrogance of local TMC leaders.
Sporadic violence marked the third phase of panchayat elections in West Bengal on Friday covering three districts of Howrah, North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas where an average 25 per cent polling was recorded in the first four hours of voting.
The 60-year-old father of a chit fund company agent on Monday committed suicide in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district. He was reportedly distressed over his son's inability to repay money to investors, taking the number of suicides after the Saradha Group bust to eight.
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.
BJP workers staged a protest in front of Nimta police station and burnt tyres on M B Road, even as the TMC claimed that its activists were not involved in any attack and she might have died due to age-related ailments.
The TMC expects to emerge victorious by way of a majority of minority votes and a minority of majority votes, notes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
If India footballer CK Vineeth has joined the government COVID-19 helpline centre in Kerala, his national team-mate Subhashish Bose has taken it upon himself to feed the homeless and jobless in his home town Subhasgram in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Amid the nationwide lockdown, a long queue could be seen every morning at Subhasgram comprising of local rickshaw pullers, daily wage earners or small time hawkers who come to collect their daily ration.
A majority of its Trinamool Congress coucillors switched over to the BJP.
The death toll due to Monday's havoc caused by Cyclone Aila in West Bengal rose to 45 on Tuesday.
The Central government has also sent a communication to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, seeking a detailed report on law and order situation and the steps being taken by the state government in maintaining peace and tranquility after Thursday's attack on Nadda's convoy, government officials said in New Delhi.
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.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted that she would win the ongoing state polls despite injury and eventually aim for power in Delhi.
Making a strong Hindutva pitch at the hustings in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked Trinamool Congress leaders for calling those wearing saffron, sporting tilak and choti as "rakshas", and declared that he does not believe in "seasonal faith".
While the state of West Bengal attempts to recover from the devastation caused by the combination of the coronavirus pandemic and the Amphan cyclone, a consortium of 38 footballers have decided to pool in their resources to help the affected people. This consortium -- named 'Players for Humanity', include the likes of Subrata Paul, Mehtab Hossain, Arnab Mondal, Subhashish Roychowdhury, Sandip Nandy, Pronay Halder, Pritam Kotal and Shouvik Ghosh amongst others.
Roopa Ganguly was on Sunday heckled and her convoy attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters near Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district.
'We, the opposition parties, extend our sympathy and support to the governments and people of West Bengal and Odisha in meeting the impact of the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan,' the resolution said. It said a natural calamity like Cyclone Amphan has come as a double blow to the states amid the coronavirus pandemic, breaking the spirits of people.
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.
Amidst tight security, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday filed his nomination from Jadavpur constituency in South 24-Parganas district, which will go to polls on April 27 in the third phase of assembly elections.
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.
Claiming that at least 14 Bharatiya Janata Party workers were killed and nearly one lakh people fled their homes in post-poll violence in West Bengal, party president J P Nadda on Wednesday alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's silence speaks of her involvement.
'Those who win indulge in shooting, looting, throwing bombs and burning houses.'
Sporadic post-poll violence continued on Tuesday in West Bengal claiming several lives as chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked officials to act decisively and Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang up Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to express anguish over the law-and-order situation.
Wednesday's expansion shows that Modi still has a keen eye on Bengal. The BJP is gearing up for the panchayat elections in Bengal next May and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
The MHA had on Friday summoned Bandopadhyay and DGP Virendra asking them to present themselves on December 14 for an explanation on the law and order situation in the state, following governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's report on the attack on Nadda's convoy by alleged supporters of the ruling TMC.
Shah said Banerjee will not be in a position to oppose the implementation of the CAA as she will cease to be the chief minister after the assembly polls likely in April-May this year.
She said the prime minister neither asked how West Bengal is handling the COVID situation and nor did he enquire about the stock of vaccines or oxygen.
Six persons received gunshot injuries in a clash between Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist workers at Haroa in North 24 Parganas district, while Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and a senior leader alleged their cars were intercepted by Marxist cadres while going to a rally in adjoining South 24 Parganas district.
A cargo ship is sinking after it collided with another cargo vessel coming from the opposite direction in Hooghly River in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Tuesday. The collision between the ships occurred at the confluence of the Hooghly and Rupnarayan rivers near Nurpur. So far, there are no reports of any casualties. The police have rushed to the spot.
Didi is frightened by the rise of BJP in West Bengal," the PM said.
The TMC, which is yet to fully recover from the 2019 Lok Sabha poll setback, when the BJP's tally soared from two to 18, is apprehensive that the AIMIM may act as "spoiler" in several assembly segments.
Not only has the Mudra loan mela generated no jobs, it has frittered away trillions of taxpayers' money and it's time to bury the scheme, argues Debashis Basu.
The ministry had sent the six previous teams to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal to review the implementation of the lockdown measures after the assessment of ground situation in identified select districts.
BJP chief J P Nadda on Thursday launched 'Lokkho Sonar Bangla' (target to build golden Bengal) manifesto crowdsourcing campaign to seek suggestions from more than two crore people in West Bengal ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
