The Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
Chief Election Commissioner Gynaesh Kumar rejects allegations of 'vote theft' and misinformation surrounding the electoral roll revision in Bihar, as the INDIA bloc launches a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'.
West Bengal's Bharatiya Janata Party government has moved to institutionalise its "detect, delete and deport" policy by directing all district administrations to set up "holding centres" for suspected illegal foreigners and foreign prisoners awaiting repatriation -- a step that appeared to give administrative shape to one of the party's most potent political themes in the state.
'...especially pressure on the rupee, the current account deficit, and foreign exchange outflows.' 'The key question over the next several months is whether the government can prevent external turbulence from feeding into domestic economic pessimism.'
Gandhi's remarks came on a day it emerged that the Election Commission has formally written to him on his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all polls held by the poll panel strictly as per laws passed by Parliament and rules, and the entire exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI investigation into the role of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata against political consultancy firm I-PAC and its director in connection with an alleged coal scam.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee escalates tensions ahead of assembly polls by accusing President Droupadi Murmu of political bias and criticising her stance on tribal welfare, sparking a major controversy.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
The BJP has released its first list of candidates for the West Bengal assembly polls, featuring Suvendu Adhikari against Mamata Banerjee in a high-stakes electoral battle. The Left Front has also announced its initial list of candidates, setting the stage for a crucial election.
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserts the BJP will form a government in West Bengal and address the issue of infiltration, accusing Mamata Banerjee of allowing it for vote-bank politics.
Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
A resident of Bhojpur district in Bihar on Thursday called on the Chief Electoral Officer of the state to plead that he was alive.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
Despite a directive from the Election Commission, no FIR has been filed against TMC MLA Monirul Islam in connection with vandalism at the Farakka Block Development Office in Murshidabad. The delay raises questions about the implementation of the Commission's orders ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
In her third letter to Kumar since the SIR began, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of political bias, insensitivity, and high-handedness during the exercise.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP-led central government of using the proposed amendment to the women's quota law as a front for the Delimitation Bill, which she claims will divide the country. She asserted that her party will fight this move at every step.
A Trinamool Congress delegation on Friday alleged before the Election Commission top brass that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, a charge junked by the poll authority.
'This is a major rupture in Tamil Nadu's political order.' 'For the Dravidian parties, the message is clear: The old DMK-AIADMK binary is no longer guaranteed a future.'
"We just looked at one constituency and we found this. I am absolutely convinced that constituency after constituency this is the drama that is taking place. Thousands and thousands of new voters, how old are they? -- 45, 50, 60, 65, thousands and thousands of them in one constituency. This is one thing, voter deletion, voter addition, new voters who are way above 18 (is going on)... so we have caught them," he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation, alleging manipulation of voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. She also questioned the abrupt resignation of Governor C V Ananda Bose and accused the BJP of anti-women policies and spreading misinformation.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a new unemployment allowance of Rs 1,500 per month for young job seekers in the state, starting March 7. The announcement comes ahead of the assembly elections and aims to support unemployed youth aged 21-40 who have passed their secondary exams.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensified his attack on the Election Commission, accusing them of 'vote chori' and warning of action if the INDIA bloc forms the government. He alleged a 'new special package' for Bihar, named SIR (Special Intensive Revision), is a 'new form of vote theft'.
The entire election process will be concluded by November 16.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for gifting 'Melody' toffees to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, calling it a 'gimmick' while India faces an 'economic storm'. He accused Modi of prioritising public relations over addressing the struggles of farmers, labourers, and youth, a sentiment echoed by other Congress leaders.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticizes Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing him of acting like an 'acting Prime Minister' and manipulating the Election Commission. She warns Prime Minister Modi against trusting Shah, suggesting he could become a 'Mir Zafar'.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar expressed satisfaction over the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, stating that the exercise has 'purified' the voters' list after 22 years. He made the announcement during a press conference in Patna.
All along, we were told SIR was an essential exercise carried out as part of the Election Commission's regular duties. But now that the ideological mentor of the ruling party has declared that SIR is a means of detecting infiltrators, one understands the unseemly haste with which it is being carried out, notes Jyoti Punwani.
"While Sinha's age is 57 years in one list and 60 years in another. Is this not fraud and an age scam? He must have filled two different forms in two different assembly constituencies. He deliberately got two votes registered in two different places. If he did not personally sign both forms, then did the Election Commission create two different votes for him in two different assembly constituencies based on forged signatures? Will he receive two different notices, or are these rules only for the opposition leaders?" he alleged.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
A man's alleged suicide in West Bengal, with a note blaming the National Register of Citizens (NRC), has ignited a political firestorm between the ruling TMC and the BJP, with accusations of fear-mongering and political exploitation.
A political controversy has erupted in West Bengal after President Droupadi Murmu raised concerns about the lack of development among tribal communities, leading to a clash between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The RJD, which has been voicing apprehensions that the SIR might have been carried out to "help" the BJP-led NDA, also urged the EC to divulge details of the 3.66 lakh persons whose names were deleted from the final electoral roll published earlier this week.
The names of 2.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits have been erased from the electoral rolls on the pretext that they do not have records to prove that they belong to the valley, a delegation said.
The Supreme Court declined to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission and state election bodies to address purported duplication and multiple entries in voter lists. The court suggested the petitioner approach high courts with specific grievances and file representations with appropriate authorities.
In some states, many women voters had enrolled themselves by their relationship with the male members of their family instead of providing their own names.
The Congress party has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of incompetence and partisanship following the Chief Election Commissioner's (CEC) defense of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The party alleges the CEC failed to address concerns about voter list irregularities and is acting in favor of the ruling BJP.
This divergence is likely to intensify political dynamics both within the party and across the state, particularly as the opposition Mahagathbandhan -- comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, and Left parties -- has been aggressively protesting the SIR and demanding its immediate scrapping.
A section of BLOs in West Bengal protested excessive workload during the SIR process, leading to clashes with BJP supporters outside the CEO's office. The protest highlights concerns over the enumeration exercise and accusations of political interference.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the central government of pressuring the outgoing Governor C V Ananda Bose to resign and alleged that his replacement, R N Ravi, is a BJP cadre.
