In a boost to the United Democratic Front ahead of assembly polls in Kerala next year, the Congress candidate K S Sabarinadhan on Tuesday won the Aruvikkara assembly by-poll by a margin of 10,128 votes defeating his nearest rival M Vijayakumar of the Opposition Left Democratic Front.
The CPI(M) on Tuesday alleged that the Maoists were engaged in the "nefarious" game of helping the Trinamool Congress in its bid to oust the Left front Government in West Bengal.
In a new twist to the politically sensitive graft case in which he is an accused, CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan today filed a petition in a special court in Kochi seeking direction to the CBI to question Defence Minister A K Antony, the then chief minister of the state.
Firing a salvo at the UPA government of which her party is a major ally, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the Centre had "surrendered" to the CPI(M) and failed to do enough to check Marxist violence in West Bengal.
The post-mortem repor said that Roy died due to hanging and no other injury mark was found on his body.
Nitin Gadkari led BJP delegation on Sunday met President Pranab Mukherjee over Kerala violence issue.
'Metro man' E Sreedharan, a much-admired technocrat who is credited with changing the face of public transport system in the country, will join the Bharatiya Janata Party giving a boost to the saffron party ahead of the assembly polls in Kerala.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja rejected the application saying requisite sanction from the competent authority, the central government, was not obtained which was required under the law.
Opposition parties on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh for not allowing their leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri after eight people died in violence there during an anti farm law protest, alleging it was an attempt to cover up and demanding the sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra and the arrest of his son, who have been named in an FIR.
Sporadic violence was reported on Thursday in the fifth and last phase of panchayat elections in West Bengal covering four districts of north Bengal with 30 per cent voter turnout reported till noon.
The brutal rape and murder of a Dalit woman at Perumbavoor is becoming campaign material for the May 16 assembly polls.
Opposition parties on Tuesday asked the government to call an all-party meeting to resolve the current impasse in Parliament, while sticking to their demands for a discussion on Pegasus snooping issue and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
Following the killing of an SDPI state secretary late Saturday night, a BJP leader was hacked to death less than 12 hours later on Sunday morning and later, prohibitory order under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 144 was imposed in the entire Alappuzha district, additional police force was deployed there and senior officers camped there to monitor the law and order situation.
As the controversy over Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt's remarks refused to die down, the chief minister said the Kerala society as a whole has not agreed with the Bishop's statement and expressed hope that he would "respond", sensing the stand of the public on the issue.
Making a scathing attack against the Left government, he said the practice of giving pension benefits to the personal staff of ministers just after completing two years a few months ago was a 'gross violation and abuse of authority.'
Mamata alleged that the BJP and the CPI-M were provoking doctors and giving communal colour to the issue.
The MLAs, who are seemingly unhappy with their leadership, arrived in Surat on Monday night and are camping at the Le Meridian Hotel, they said.
Police said 34-year-old Rajesh's left hand was chopped off in the attack which took place around 9 pm on Saturday night.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged on Friday that some local news channels had ganged up with the opposition to make a hue and cry over rape and violence in the state and reiterated that there was a conspiracy to kill her.
The consent is akin to a blanket nod for the agency to probe scheduled offences specified in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DPSE) Act, 1946.
Dasmunshi said the chief minister, who cannot avoid administrative responsibility for the incident, should offer a public apology for it.
The BJP, which leads the ruling coalition at the Centre, hit right back, dismissing her allegation as 'baseless' and asserting she will be ousted from power 'democratically' after the assembly elections due next year.
Over 86 lakh voters will decide the political fate of 284 candidates in this phase.
He also said that the prime minister had failed to live up to his promise to create two crore jobs every year.
In a major boost to the party ahead of next year's Assembly polls, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday scored a landslide victory in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation bagging 114 of the 144 wards, and also won 69 of the 91 civic bodies in districts across West Bengal.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday urged top opposition leaders to rise above political compulsions to take on the BJP in the interest of the nation and start planning "systematically" to realise the "ultimate goal" of winning the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
Targeting her Marxist opponents again, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that Communist Party of India-Marxist was plotting with Maoists to kill her with the help of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and financed by North Korea, Venezuela and Hungary.
"I was standing outside my car with the door open. I was going to a temple there to offer my prayers. Few people came around my car and pushed the door. The door hit my leg," she said.
Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged corruption in the erstwhile Left Front government and said that many files were missing for which FIRs should be lodged.
About 200 employees were detained across the state in connection with incidents related to strike
In an embarrassment to Congress Lok Sabha member from Kannur K Sudharakaran, a former aide of his on Saturday alleged that the Member of Parliament was involved in a "conspiracy" to murder Communist Party of India - Marxist leader E P Jayarajan in early 1990s.
The overall average till 5 pm was 84.24 per cent.
Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman's seat to protest against the farm bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.
Police suspects that issues between student activists over using college walls led to the attack.
What was shocking was the execution of the killings -- calculated, gory and intended to send a chill down the spine.
With Pinarayi Vijayan set to be chief minister, what will be the role for party patriarch V S Achuthanandan? And what are the key takeways from the election results in Kerala?
'If the chief minister says there are areas in her home state where she cannot enter, where has she driven the state to!'
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
'They are our go-to men, our trouble-shooters.' 'They draw their strength from remaining low-key and accessible only to our workers.'
