Rahul Gandhi accuses the government of using the women's reservation bill as a smokescreen to manipulate India's electoral map and diminish representation for certain states.
The delimitation in Assam has quietly changed the political scene, raising questions about whether new constituency boundaries helped the BJP by spreading out Muslim-majority voters.
Maharashtra has completed 66.42 per cent of its pre-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) mapping work, with significant variations in progress across different districts, according to officials.
While the total number of assembly seats remains unchanged at 126, the redrawing of boundaries has reshaped voter composition across constituencies -- a shift that is likely to influence electoral outcomes in the years ahead.
The 2026 election appears to have reinforced a new political formula in Assam: Strong organisation, continuous grassroots engagement, effective alliance management and welfare-based voter outreach.
For over a decade, the TMC's dominance in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur rested on a near-complete consolidation of Muslim votes, a bloc that accounts for 50 per cent or more of the population in large parts of this belt.
In West Bengal's electoral chessboard, governments are rarely made in the hills of North Bengal or the forested region of Jangalmahal. Power is usually decided in the crowded plains of South Bengal, where elections are won less by momentum and more by mathematics.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who made "number 16" jibe at the treasury benches during his speech in Lok Sabha on Friday on three new bills, refused to elaborate on it in his brief interaction with reporters and said "it is a puzzle" and he "won't tell the answer just like that".
Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer has ordered a thorough verification of nearly 1 million voter deletions following complaints of wrongful removals, particularly concerning deceased voters and those who may have shifted residences.
The BJP's landslide victory in West Bengal has not merely redrawn the electoral map but overturned the operating logic of politics in the state, breaching the TMC's entrenched fortress despite a decade-and-a-half of dominance, minority consolidation, and a sustained "outsider" narrative.
Track the 2026 assembly election results for Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, and Kerala with live vote counting updates, candidate leads, and interactive doughnut graphs. Stay informed with real?time numbers, trends, and comprehensive state?wise coverage.
West Bengal is on edge as it awaits the results of its recent election, with the TMC and BJP vying for control. The counting process will be conducted under tight security, with the Election Commission implementing stringent measures to ensure a fair and transparent process.
The BJP is showing strong leads in West Bengal and Assam, while actor Vijay's party is making a significant debut in Tamil Nadu. The Congress is ahead in Kerala, offering some consolation amid the changing political landscape in the state elections.
West Bengal's final phase of assembly elections focuses on the TMC's southern stronghold, where the BJP aims to make inroads. The outcome will determine whether Mamata Banerjee's party retains its dominance or if the BJP can secure a path to power.
A Constitution Amendment Bill aimed at implementing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and increasing Lok Sabha seats was defeated in Parliament, marking a setback for the government's efforts to empower women in politics.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the BJP after the central government failed to pass a Constitution amendment bill for women's quota in legislatures, accusing the BJP of using the bill as a political ploy to divide the country and Bengal.
If current trends persist, the Congress risks becoming increasingly regionally concentrated, dependent on a handful of states rather than functioning as a truly pan-India political force.
The Election Commission has announced a stringent security plan for the second phase of the West Bengal assembly polls, ensuring voters can exercise their franchise without fear. Security personnel will be deployed constituency-wise, and area domination exercises will be stepped up in sensitive neighbourhoods. CCTV cameras will be installed at every polling station, and central forces will remain deployed at booths.
The Trinamool Congress government's massive defeat in West Bengal shows "deep anti-incumbency and unpopularity" as out of 35 ministers who contested the assembly elections, 22 have been defeated, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her constituency.
Whether Vijay has the political spine to stitch together a stable government from this patchwork of conditions, demands, and midnight drama is the question Tamil Nadu is living through right now.
Bhabanipur is set to be the focal point of the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, with Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari preparing for a high-stakes political battle. The constituency will witness rival processions and symbolic gestures as both parties aim to assert their dominance.
Mamata Banerjee's defeat in West Bengal marks a significant turning point in her political career, challenging her ability to rebuild and regain influence after a long period of dominance.
Voting has commenced in 142 constituencies for the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, with significant security measures in place. The outcome will determine whether the TMC maintains its dominance or if the BJP can gain ground in the state.
A BJP government in Bengal inherits more problems than it might care to admit at its moment of triumph, points out Ramesh Menon
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Election Commission on a plea by Trinamool Congress MPs alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
'All this talk about women's reservation and Nari Shakti is a mirage.' 'It is a classic Trojan horse to bring about an alteration in the structure of political competition -- to the enduring advantage of the BJP.'
The Election Commission is set to publish the draft electoral rolls for West Bengal on Tuesday following the completion of the statewide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The publication of the draft rolls will mark the end of the enumeration phase and the beginning of a far more contentious stage - claims, objections and hearings that will stretch into February 2026.
Opposition leaders have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, calling it politically motivated and a misuse of official platforms during ongoing elections.
The Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, has stated that the primary goal of the Election Commission is to ensure all voters in West Bengal can participate in the upcoming assembly elections without violence or intimidation.
'A genuine tribute to Dr Ambedkar does not lie in selective invocation. It lies in asking a harder question: Is the Constitution still doing its job -- restraining even assertive majorities?' asks Manoj Mohanka.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee challenges Amit Shah to resign, questioning his commitment to clean politics, citing Shah's past arrest and criticising the BJP's actions against allegedly corrupt leaders.
The upcoming publication of West Bengal's electoral rolls is expected to intensify political tensions and debates ahead of the Assembly elections, reflecting concerns about voter inclusion and identity.
Both sides have now revealed a preference for escalation over strategic defeat, and each new provocation narrows the space for the next pause. The Touska seizure, Iran's refusal to negotiate under blockade, Israel's strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure -- all of these add up to an increasingly untenable situation. This makes the wild card -- Trump and his motormouth -- more consequential than ever, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
The Election Commission released the names of deleted voters in West Bengal ahead of the publication of the draft electoral rolls for the upcoming assembly elections.
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, has reassured the public that individual data collected during the upcoming census will remain confidential and cannot be used for any purpose other than statistical aggregation.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resign, citing hypocrisy in Shah's call for 'clean politics' given his past arrest. Banerjee also criticised the Election Commission and defended his party's record.
A new study alleges that Muslim voters are disproportionately represented in Logical Discrepancy (LD) lists during Kolkata's voter roll revision, raising concerns about potential bias in the electoral process.
Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram raised doubts over the integrity of the counting process as Election Commission trends placed the NDA ahead. He alleged serious anomalies and accused the administration of attempting to steal votes, while other Congress leaders urged patience until final results.
The application claimed that since the inception of the SIR process in the state, the EC has issued instructions to officers at the ground level through "informal and extra-statutory channels", such as WhatsApp messages and oral directions conveyed during video conferences, instead of issuing formal written instructions.
The Election Commission reports a discrepancy of nearly 26 lakh voters' names in West Bengal's current electoral rolls when compared to the 2002 voter list.
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