West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with TMC counting agents to prepare for the vote counting of the assembly elections.
'How does the person responsible for the leader's defeat stand before the leader, showing his face, without even a shred of shame, fear, apprehension, or embarrassment?'
Initial vote counting in the Kerala Assembly elections indicates a significant lead for the Congress-led UDF, suggesting a potential shift in power.
Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of resorting to 'dramabazi' in front of a counting centre. Adhikari claims Banerjee's actions are futile and will not alter the election outcome.
Newly appointed Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon has outlined his plans to strengthen the party in the state, aiming for a majority in the 2027 assembly elections. He criticised the ruling AAP government and promised to address key issues such as crop diversification and law and order.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accused the BJP of orchestrating the recent blasts in Amritsar and Jalandhar to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of upcoming assembly elections. Mann alleges the BJP seeks to incite violence and intimidate the public to gain votes, a tactic he claims they employ in every state where they contest elections.
BJP's Panihati candidate Ratna Debnath faced protests by TMC workers when she visited a booth in the assembly constituency in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district where polling was underway. She also accused the ruling party activists of preventing her from leaving the booth premises, following an altercation with them over an allegation of influencing voters.
NDA partner Bodoland People's Front (BPF) is expected to secure a majority of the 15 Assembly seats in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam, leading in 10 constituencies, according to Election Commission data. The BJP, a major partner in the ruling NDA, leads in three seats, while the UPPL and Congress are ahead in one seat each.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) conducted extensive voter awareness campaigns and small group meetings across West Bengal, encouraging people to vote without fear, while also providing valuable feedback to the BJP on public sentiment and rival strategies.
The Punjab State Election Commissioner has announced that elections for 105 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations, will be held on May 26, with vote counting on May 29. The Model Code of Conduct is now in effect, and over 35,000 police personnel will be deployed to ensure safety.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has warned against any attempts to tamper with the counting process, following a visit to an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur where she alleged possible malpractice.
Rishabh Pant has been relieved of his captaincy duties with the Lucknow Super Giants after a disappointing 2026 IPL season. The decision comes after the team finished last and amidst reports of a disconnect between Pant and the team management.
'Vijay did not defeat Dravidian politics from outside. He entered the Dravidian field and claimed ownership of it. 'His argument was not that the room should be destroyed. It was that the present occupants no longer deserved to remain in it.'
The Election Commission has deployed 432 counting observers across all 294 assembly constituencies in West Bengal to ensure transparent and smooth counting of votes. Several districts have been assigned additional observers in view of their sensitivity and electoral significance. Enforcement agencies have carried out extensive seizure drives during the election period to curb illegal inducements, with total seizures valued at approximately Rs 561 crore.
The appointment of Rathan U Kelkar as secretary to Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has sparked a political controversy, with the CPI(M) accusing the Congress of double standards regarding appointments of election officials.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accused the BJP of orchestrating recent blasts in Amritsar and Jalandhar as part of their strategy for the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab, alleging the party seeks to create an atmosphere of fear to influence voters.
The BJP experienced a mixed bag of results in the West Bengal Assembly elections, with several heavyweight candidates securing victories while others faced defeat. Key wins included Dilip Ghosh, Suvendu Adhikari, and others, but some prominent faces failed to win.
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Byju Raveendran, upholding the NCLAT's decision to reinstate the original Committee of Creditors (CoC) in Think & Learn Private Ltd's insolvency proceedings, which includes Glass Trust Company LLC as a major lender.
Incidents of violence and vandalism were reported from parts of West Bengal during the early hours of voting in the second phase of the assembly elections on Wednesday, police said. The incidents were reported from multiple locations, including Chapra, Shantipur, Nimtala and Bhangar, they said.
'The TVK might form a minority government.'
In West Bengal's political circles, it was widely believed that after Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikhari was perhaps the only leader with a truly significant mass base of his own.
'Even if they align with the TVK now, I don't think the AIADMK leadership will completely surrender to the dominance of Vijay.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party has surged past the halfway mark in the West Bengal assembly elections, leading in 185 seats against the Trinamool Congress's 91, signalling a potential political shift in the state. Early trends suggest a geographically split mandate, with the BJP gaining in border, tribal, and industrial regions, while the TMC holds ground in parts of Kolkata and select rural strongholds.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with counting agents to ensure there are no lapses during the vote counting process.
Huma Qureshi made a glamorous return to Cannes, captivating attendees at the Women in Cinema gala in a sophisticated all-black tailored power suit.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has directed police to promptly register cases, investigate expeditiously, and ensure stringent punishment for those involved in sexual crimes, following a series of incidents including the murder of a 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has alleged large-scale irregularities in the West Bengal assembly polls, questioning the counting process and the role of election officials and security forces. He claimed EVMs could be replaced, influencing the election outcome.
The Bhabanipur assembly segment is Banerjee's political bastion, where she is locked in a prestige battle against Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in what is being seen as a symbolic rematch of Nandigram, where he had defeated her in the 2021 assembly polls.
The renewed rush comes days after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that West Bengal would aggressively implement a 'detect, delete and deport' policy against infiltrators.
The Election Commission has ordered a repoll in all 285 polling booths of the Falta assembly constituency in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on May 21, following reports of severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process during the second phase of the assembly elections.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accused the BJP of engaging in divisive politics and attempting to incite violence in Punjab for electoral gains, while reaffirming his government's commitment to peace and communal harmony.
Unlike films that end with the underdog becoming winner and being sworn in at a public ceremony, Vijay's trial by fire is only about to begin, predicts Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
In Puducherry, where constituencies have fewer than 30,000 electors on average, it is usual for N Rangaswamy to call out people he knows by name during his roadside election meetings.
Pooja Batra's short film Echoes Of Us gets a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor criticised the proposal to increase the Lok Sabha's strength to 850, while BJP leaders defended delimitation as a democratic necessity at the Stanford India Conference 2026.
'If you read the TVK manifesto, it is doles and much more doles. But the state has been habituated to this.' 'In no way is he distinct or different from the DMK regime.'
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) will hold a Special General Body Meeting to amend its constitution in line with the National Sports Governance Act and discuss the new commercial partner for the Indian Super League.
Punjab's AAP president, Aman Arora, has criticised Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu for alleged misconduct and objectionable behaviour towards police personnel in Dhuri, while Bittu accuses the AAP government of misusing the police to target BJP workers.
Voting has commenced for the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, with over 3.60 crore electors eligible to vote in 152 constituencies in Bengal and 5.73 crore voters in Tamil Nadu. Security measures are heightened to ensure free and fair polling.
