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.
Police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the crowd.
Let us contain this raging fire, this tsunami of hate, appeals Sonia Gandhi.
The perception is rapidly gaining ground that though the chief minister is from the Shiv Sena, the government is being run by the NCP.
The Modi leadership could lose Election 2024 if a communal flare-up becomes cause for all-round catastrophe, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
Having a young, untested leader makes sense for the Tamil Nadu BJP. But the new state president's immediate concern will be to gain acceptance within the state unit that is still in the grip of those with a strong RSS background, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Stalin said that even in Gujarat the vice-chancellors are not appointed by the governor but the State.
The home minister called up the chief minister to express serious concern over the reports of large-scale violence.
The home ministry dispatched a terse reminder to the West Bengal government on Wednesday to submit a detailed report on the post-poll violence in the state, warning it that the matter will be taken 'seriously' in case it fails to do so, and asked it to take necessary measures to stop such incidents 'without any loss of time', officials said.
"There is a clear hand of the Punjab government in it. Here in Haryana, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress leaders besides some Left leaders are instigating farmers to take law in their hands," Haryana chief minister M L Khattar said
This was Channi's first meeting with Shah after becoming the chief minister of the state.
The crisis in Rajasthan Congress intensified with Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot at loggerheads, while Gehlot is blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party for trying to destabilise the state government by poaching MLAs, Pilot is camping in Delhi to speak to the party leadership regarding the political turmoil in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
Two incidents of hurling of crude bombs were reported in Sealdah and Khanna areas of Kolkata, and police contingents were rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control, a State Election Commission official said.
The public protest had erupted over the demand for rehabilitation of nearly 800 families evicted from the land they were living on for decades.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's historic Lok Sabha election success in Uttar Pradesh has influenced its two main rivals in the state, the Samajwadi Party and Congress, to field fewer Muslim candidates for the 11 assembly seats that go to the by-polls on Saturday.
People poured their wrath on Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi for showing cruelty to the animal.
Opposition parties on Tuesday questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh and asked them to take the nation into confidence on the matter, while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party asserted that India's borders will remain intact under Modi's leadership.
Allies, Opposition increase volume of criticism; hope in Kashmir, Assam
The Chinese aren't after territory. Their target is our national will, morale and the sense of autonomy we feel in making our strategic choices. They are attacking India and the Modi government at their weakest point, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Extensive arrangements have been made due to the COVID-19 pandemic including personal protective equipment kits for election staff, more polling booths, thermal screening, sanitisers, masks and gloves for voters and markings to ensure social distancing, officials said.
The video of the speech he made in Gujarati has gone viral.
The KCBC, in a statement, said that even the United Nations reports have made it clear that money earned from drug trafficking is being used for terrorist activities.
High drama was witnessed at Tamluk in Purba Medinipur district on Sunday afternoon as West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari was prevented by police from visiting violence-hit areas in Howrah.
Amid high drama, Bharatiya Janata Party vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was on Thursday arrested along with party leaders for defying prohibitory orders when they tried to enter trouble-torn Makra village in Birbhum district, made out of bounds for politicians by Trinamool government.
A quick look at the 66-year-old leader's political journey in the mid-1970s shows how injuries and physical assaults have shaped her political career over the years.
Maharashtra politics is at crossroads. Anything can happen in this dynamic situation. Uddhav will have to prove he is a worthy inheritor of his father's legacy and keep his cadre and leaders in the party stable. Fadnavis will have to prove that manoeuvrings on floor of the house was an inevitable political necessity to change the destiny of Maharashtra eventually. Modi and Shah will have to show that they can and will are resist use of 'the system' in the pursuit of power. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com analyses the situation.
'The JD-U and RLSP will have to listen to whatever Amit Shah says.' 'The BJP has so much power that he will snub either of the two parties.'
The TMC chief has been complaining for long alleging that her rivals have brought in goons from other states to intimidate voters.
The Congress took out marches and observed bandh at several places on Saturday to protest against rising fuel prices.
.jpg)
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Assembly Sangeet Som, who was arrested for his alleged role in the Muzzafarnagar riots speeches, was on Tuesday detained under the stringent National Security Act.
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.
The EC has deployed 580 companies of central forces to man over 98 per cent of the polling booths in these constituencies to ensure free and fair polling.
Polling was held for over hundred civic bodies in Punjab on Sunday amid stray incidents of skirmishes at some places.
The final figure of polling could increase and it will be available on Tuesday, officials said.
No BJP president is powerful when the party is in power. Amit Shah is completely dependent on Narendra Modi's clout. He has a protective political immunity and everyone knows its source, says Bharat Bhushan
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday targeted Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya over the suicide by a Dalit scholar saying the ministers and the vice chancellor have "not acted fairly" that forced him to take the extreme step.
A high voter turnout was recorded in West Bengal, Assam Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections on Tuesday. The massive polling exercise following COVID-19 health protocol and involving lakhs of personnel began at 7 am and the last hour from 6 pm to 7 pm was set aside for COVID-19 patients and those under isolation. The counting of votes in the states will be held on May 2.
Banerjee is scheduled to take out a protest rally on Wednesday to protest the smashing of the bust of the social reformer by alleged Bharatiya Janata Party activists in north Kolkata on Tuesday.
No untoward incident has been reported so far in the bandh called by the All Minority Organisations Coordination Committee, which includes the All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) and the Jamiat-e-Ulema among others, that began at 5 am on Friday, a police officer said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances