'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
Opposition parties are demanding a full Parliament discussion on the West Asia conflict, criticising the government's silence and calling for a contingency plan to protect India's energy security and citizens.
A day after quitting the Congress, former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro on Tuesday arrived in Kolkata, where he is likely to join the Trinamool Congress, party sources said.
A Trinamool Congress legislator on Sunday threatened to not support any bill tabled by the government in the West Bengal Assembly in the future and abstain from voting in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in the state if 'atrocities' on his loyalists allegedly by a rival faction continued, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party said the collapse of the Mamata Banerjee government was just a matter of time.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated the government is open to discussing electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha, urging the Opposition not to impose a timeline. Opposition parties staged a walkout after demanding an immediate discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
A political slugfest broke out between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress on Monday after the latter accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting Bankim Chandra Chatterjee by calling him 'Bankim da', prompting a counter-attack from the saffron party, which accused West Bengal's ruling party of defiling the state's cultural legacy for a decade.
The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a strong attack on the Congress party, accusing them of being unable to accept their repeated electoral defeats and highlighting the achievements of his government.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of the Indo-US trade deal soon after the zero hour ended and alleged that the information about the deal was being received from Washington instead.
This is the fourth such death reported in the state since the exercise began on November 4, sparking a political blame game.
Political parties in West Bengal, including the ruling TMC and opposition BJP, have condemned the organizers of an event featuring Lionel Messi in Kolkata after it descended into chaos due to spectators' inability to properly view the football star. Demands for action and accountability have been made.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with families affected by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, met with the Chief Election Commissioner to voice their concerns and demand a halt to the revision process.
In a strategic move for the upcoming West Bengal elections, the BJP has announced its first candidate list, highlighted by Suvendu Adhikari challenging Mamata Banerjee in both Nandigram and Bhabanipur.
Several opposition MPs, who had previously criticized former Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, are now praising him following his sudden resignation, with some even requesting him to reconsider.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed gratitude to several leaders, including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, for their concern and well wishes after he was hospitalized for cardiac-related ailments. Dhankhar, who resumed chairing the Rajya Sabha on Monday, said he was "greatly touched" by the concern expressed across party lines, which contributed to his speedy recovery.
The Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, will debate the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. The bill has been met with strong opposition from several parties who claim it is unconstitutional. The government, however, insists the bill aims to improve the management of Waqf properties in India by bringing transparency and efficiency.
He added that opposition parties were assured that their concerns regarding the impact of the West Asia situation on India and the safety of Indian citizens were addressed in detail.
While naming him as the NDA candidate for the Vice President's post, the BJP had described him as 'Kisan putra', a move seen in the political circles aimed at reaching out to the politically significant Jat community which had participated in huge numbers in the year-long farmers' protests against agriculture reform measures unveiled in June 2020.
Banerjee tweeted that as a part of her "constant endeavour" towards women's empowerment, she was proud that half of the nominees were women.
Kalyan Banerjee said that he did not intend to hurt anyone but did not offer any apology for the mimicry act which has been described by Dhankhar as an insult to the post of vice-president, the farmers and his own community.
'Although there is a visible dent in TMC's urban votes, especially among women, the CPI-M and the BJP are unlikely to benefit from this'
The West Bengal Congress unit issued a denial and said the state president meant "TMC and BJP are just the opposite sides of the same coin as both are venomous and spread lies".
Prasun Banerjee and Jawhar Sircar represented TMC in the meeting, which discussed the Opposition strategy on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Parliament.
Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the House in a partisan manner.
The raids were conducted on Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, he said. There was no objection to the raids by Hossain, a two-time TMC MLA and a businessman.
The TMC and the Congress are at daggers drawn over the recent instances of 'poaching' by the Mamata Banerjee-led camp.
The Election Commission's move to transfer West Bengal's chief secretary and DGP soon after the announcement of Assembly poll dates triggered a political slugfest.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP and leader of the party in the Upper House Derek O'Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Lok Sabha MP and leader of the party in the Lower House, have written to presiding officers of both Houses, urging then to wind up proceedings on Monday (March 23).
The INDIA bloc is set to field a joint candidate for the upcoming vice presidential elections. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is engaging with opposition parties to identify potential candidates and build consensus. The decision reflects a unified front among opposition parties aiming to send a strong political message.
Ramesh also listed several previous occasions when special sessions or special sittings were held and the list of business was known in advance.
As the House took up the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, the Bharatiya Janata Party launched a frontal attack on opposition parties specially the Congress for their stance against the CAA, saying they were trying to divide the nation.
Opposition parties in India's Rajya Sabha, including the Congress and the TMC, walked out of the chamber after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. The Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, rejected the notices under Rule 267, citing non-compliance with previous rulings. While TMC and Congress MPs focused on the duplicate voter ID issue, Tamil parties expressed concerns about the impact of delimitation on southern states. Despite raising slogans and pressing for a discussion, the opposition staged a walkout after their notices were rejected and their statements deemed not part of the official record.
They are actively engaging with the party leadership for the past some time but the party is yet to take a call, the sources said, adding the MPs include one from the north of the country and one from south.
Minutes after the Rajya Sabha Secretariat asked the six MPs to withdraw from the proceedings, they tried to enter the Rajya Sabha gallery but were stopped by security officials, sources in the secretariat said.
Sircar, a retired IAS officer, claimed that corruption by a section of leaders of his party and lack of action against them was one of the reasons for his decision.
Bora claimed that he had suggested the need for an Assamese leader at the national level of TMC, declaring the residence of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Tollygunge in Kolkata as a heritage site and converting the Madhupur Satra in Cooch Behar to a cultural hub.
With authorities not granting permission for a tent, five MPs slept under the sky as a protest against the suspension of 24 MPs, 20 from Rajya Sabha and four Congress members from Lok Sabha.
A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairman Vijaya Rahatkar, met with riot-affected women in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, assuring them of safety and demanding an NIA probe into the recent communal clashes. The women narrated their harrowing experiences and demanded permanent BSF camps in select areas of the district. The NCW team also visited relief camps in Malda district and assessed the condition of women affected by the violence.
The Trinamool Congress Friday appointed former party MP Arpita Ghosh as its state general secretary, two days after the Rajya Sabha chairman accepted her resignation from the Upper House.
