In a first such action in India's electoral history, the Election Commission had Wednesday ordered campaigning in the nine West Bengal constituencies to end at 10 pm on Thursday, instead of 6 pm on Friday, in the wake of violence between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata during Amit Shah's roadshow.
Sixteen more bodies were found during search operations on Monday, taking the toll to 41 in the trawler capsize mishap near Talpatty island in the Hooghly river in South 24 Parganas district. "Sixteen more bodies were recovered, but the toll is likely to rise as there is a possibility of recovering more bodies," said South 24 Parganas District Magistrate N S Nigam.
'Technology is streamliming the entire process of aid distribution and making it transparent and digital.'
State Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De wrote that 'firm and appropriate actions' were initiated in all cases of violence without any delay.
The prime minister telephoned Banerjee to take stock of the flood situation in West Bengal, and assured the chief minister of all central assistance to mitigate it, the bureaucrat said.
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.
In Bihar, where a bandh had been called, a railway station and a police vehicle were torched, an ambulance attacked and security personnel injured in stone-pelting incidents on the fourth consecutive day of the agitation, while protesters vandalised Ludhiana railway station in Punjab and blocked roads and rail tracks in West Bengal, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
'With sufficient gaps between polling dates, the BJP will have time to convert the 'fence-sitter' votes,' observes Payal Mohanka.
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.
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 MHA asked the Bengal government to maintain law and order, peace and public tranquility.
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 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.
Party leaders are being forced to bite the tongue while answering queries on cut money and alleged arrogance of local TMC leaders.
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.
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.
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.
The death toll due to Monday's havoc caused by Cyclone Aila in West Bengal rose to 45 on Tuesday.
A majority of its Trinamool Congress coucillors switched over to the BJP.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Roopa Ganguly was on Sunday heckled and her convoy attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters near Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district.
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.
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".
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
