Announcing the first list of candidates, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that of the 16 names announced, 14 are new, of whom three are women.
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.
Kumar, who played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir during his stint in the Union home ministry, took charge as an election commissioner on March 15, 2024.
The BJP announced its list of 148 candidates for the last four phases of assembly election in West Bengal, rewarding around 20 turncoats and fielding party heavyweights Mukul Roy and Rahul Sinha.
Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala Cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. Kumar, who was previously an Election Commissioner, will serve until January 26, 2029. His appointment comes amidst controversy as the Congress party demanded the government defer its decision until the Supreme Court concludes its hearing on a petition challenging the composition of the selection panel. Kumar's tenure will see him oversee several state assembly elections, including Bihar, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
The BJP will win the next Bengal assembly election, Thakur said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has demanded that the Election Commission (EC) accept its error in issuing duplicate voter card numbers within 24 hours, threatening to release more documents on the issue if the EC fails to do so. The party alleged that the EC issued the statement after the TMC announced it would hold a press conference on the issue, and termed it an "Epic Scam." The EC had said it would rectify the issue and update its technology-driven platform, but the TMC insists the EC must accept the error. The party also demanded an in-depth probe into the matter.
Whether the age-old cry of kendrer banchana will be able to drown out pangs of Sandeshkhali, the EVM will tell.
Voting is being held at 11,860 polling stations spread over 11 assembly constituencies each in Murshidabad and Birbhum, six in Malda and seven in north Kolkata.
Addressing a big rally in Kolkata to launch the Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha campaign, Shah launched a blistering attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issues of appeasement, infiltration, corruption and political violence, alleging she has "destroyed" the state.
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.
In 2019, an all-party meeting was held in Delhi and it was attended by 19 political parties to discuss critical reforms in governance. One of the subjects of the discussions was simultaneous elections
Election officials said a report on the incident has been sought from the district officials.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids in three locations in and around Kolkata and again recovered large stacks of cash from a flat linked to Arpita Mukherjee, considered a close associate of arrested West Bengal Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee.
The comment comes two days after state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said his party won't beg for seats from the TMC.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday appealed to the people to ensure the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in 35 seats out of the 42 in West Bengal in the next Lok Sabha polls, saying that the Trinamool Congress government would not survive beyond 2025 if the target is achieved.
Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi has defended the state government's use of bulldozers to demolish the homes of alleged anti-social elements, saying that only opposition parties are upset about the measure. He also vowed to take strict action against those involved in "love jihad", saying that they would be paraded on the streets. Sanghavi's comments come amid rising tensions over the issue of religious conversions in India.
Adhikari, a former Trinamool Congress minister and MLA, quit all posts and had switched over to the saffron camp last week.
Taking a serious view of violence after the assembly poll results in West Bengal, the Calcutta high court on Friday ordered the state home secretary to file a report mentioning the places where the post-poll violence occurred and the steps taken to contain the violence.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister. Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls.
'I've come here as a commoner. Justice is needed to ensure that this incident is never repeated.'
Nine MLAs, including Babul Supriyo, took oath as ministers in West Bengal on Wednesday, in a major reshuffle of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet.
The counting of votes will take place on November 2.
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from various places that went to polls on Saturday during the first phase of the West Bengal assembly election, even as the overall poll situation was largely peaceful with 79.79 per cent turnout recorded till the end of voting, an official said.
Maintaining that the INDIA alliance is for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and not for assembly polls in any state, the Congress on Friday asserted that the opposition bloc of 27 parties exists and will fight together.
Police said there were intelligence inputs that attempts would be made to trigger violence during the match, because of which it was cancelled.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
The Calcutta high court Wednesday directed the West Bengal government to requisition central forces for assisting the state police in maintaining peace during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations.
It said the chief justice-led bench of the high court shall be at liberty to pass appropriate order in the petition after hearing all the objections, if any, of Adhikari both on the merits and maintainability of the plea.
Amit Shah, who missed campaigning in Bihar, made a two-day trip to Bengal starting November 5 to oversee BJPs preparedness for the state polls.
She also raised the issue of the state's renaming and invited Modi to Bengal.
Emerging from a meeting with Banerjee at the state secretariat, Yadav said that the first priority of his party was to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party's progress in West Bengal.
The central election committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party will meet on Thursday to finalise its first list of candidates for five assembly polls, with top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expected to attend the meeting.
The message from Sunday's event will undoubtedly reverberate globally. It's a landmark occasion that will be remembered for generations and will inspire many other states to introduce the story of Rajendra Chola into school curricula, says Tarun Vijay.
The political heat in West Bengal has been giving the rising mercury levels serious competition since the high court order.
The West Bengal chief minister is in Goa and expected to interact with party workers and the fishermen community.
AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi's first rally in Kolkata, scheduled to be held on Thursday, has been cancelled as the city police denied permission for it, party sources claimed.
Following a debacle in the West Bengal assembly election, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said he does not want to contest any future election in an alliance which has the Indian Secular Front (ISF) as a partner.
The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
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