A victory in Nandigram would not only establish him as one of the tallest BJP leaders in Bengal but would push him miles ahead of others in the chief ministerial race if the party is voted to power.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O' Brien met the agitating farmers at the Singhu border in the afternoon.
Priest-turned politician Yogi Adityanath, 44, who was on Sunday sworn in as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, now joins Trivendra Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand, M L Khattar of Haryana, Sarbananda Sonowal of Assam and 70-year-old Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik of Odisha in the league of singletons running state governments.
'The way opposition parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena, the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Jharkhand Mukti Morch have supported her, if she wins, she will be the biggest opposition face for 2024'
The Left Front camp seems shellshocked as news of its heavyweights Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Gautam Deb, Ashim Dasgupta trailing in their respective constituencies poured in
Day 1 of the relaxations saw scores of people hitting the roads in their four wheeelers and two wheelers in various parts of the state, including coronavirus hotspots, and there was confusion galore over the easing of nroms.
All Opposition political parties were united on Tuesday in their condemnation of the government's decision to detain Anna Hazare and his aides, hours before the Gandhian activist was scheduled to go on an indefinite fast against corruption in New Delhi. Leaders of the Left Front are scheduled to meet their counterparts in the Bharatiya Janata Party and other Opposition parties at 2 pm on Tuesday to chalk out their strategy in the wake of Hazare's detention.
'Hira' means, he said, "H for highway, I for Internet way, R for roadways and A for airways".
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who frequently alleged during the Left Front regime that her phone was being tapped, on Thursday said an inquiry has been ordered into the matter. No rules were followed while tapping the phones of political leaders, journalists and even common people during Left Front regime. "We have asked the chief secretary, the home secretary and the Kolkata police chief to probe at whose instance such phone tapping had been done," she said.
Mirza was produced before a special CBI court in Kolkata, which remanded him in the central probe agency's custody till September 30.
The question that many observers of Bengal politics may be asking today is whether Singur will also mark the beginning of Banerjee's political downfall.
Banerjee, also the TMC supremo, said in a sarcastic way that personnel of security forces such as the CRPF, BSF, CISF and the Army are present at convoys of every BJP leader visiting West Bengal.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that West Bengal has been taken on a road of destruction under the 34-year Left Front rule and assured that the Congress-Trinamool alliance is determined to free the state from this "misrule".
Kicking off a virtual campaign for the assembly polls due in three months, Bhattacharjee alleged that 'foreign forces' along with the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Maoists had ganged up against his government.
The top leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist met in New Delhi on Monday to study its debacle in the assembly elections. Here's what they analysed.
'Gandhi could have chosen to contest from some other constituency where the BJP was strong -- Karnataka or some other state'
The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has often been mocked by opponents for not having a well-defined ideological plank, seems to have finally found its calling in Bengali sub-nationalism, as a section of top party leaders feel only an 'inclusive message of regionalism, which the Bengalis can identify with, will counter the aggressive nationalism and Hindutva practised by the saffron camp'.
Here's how the prominent leaders in the fray in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland performed.
The state government as an interim measure would raise Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) from market borrowings and Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) as loan from small savings, Mitra told reporters at the state secretariat.
Political parties bracing for the crucial April-May Assembly polls in West Bengal have put up a number of new faces, marking a departure after many years in the composition of candidate lists. The ruling Left Front, facing its toughest battle since 1977 when it came to power, leads the pack by injecting fresh blood in almost half of the total 294 constituencies, throwing out some prominent, but tainted names.
We are asking you, our dear readers, to help the Trinamool chief in her new and challenging job. What, according to you, are the five immediate steps that Banerjee needs to take after she takes over the mantle of Bengal's chief minister?
Eight ministers were on Sunday dropped from the list of contestants for the West Bengal assembly polls, with the Left Front announcing 149 new candidates, apparently to counter anti-incumbency. Assembly Speaker H A Halim will not contest the elections to the 294-member House, beginning April 18, on health grounds.As per the list, finalised at a meeting of the Left Front, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been re-nominated from Jadavpur seat.
Though several exit polls have painted a dismal picture about the electoral fate of the Left Front in West Bengal and Kerala -- two states ruled by the Communist Party of India - Marxist led combine -- the top brass of the party is putting up a brave front. Top Left Front leaders have claimed that the party will retain power in both states despite heavy odds. The United Democratic Front in Kerala, led by the Congress, is locked in a bitter battle with the Left parties.
The West Bengal chief minister did not have anything new to offer to Singur and its people, except that the site would be used for an industrial project.
"No explanation can satisfy me," the Governor told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening, a day after making it clear that he would not remain a 'mute spectator' as he sought a report from the Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The Congress-led UPA government was a sinking ship and would not return to power while the Left would face further rejection by the people, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday.
Reading out a reply to the government's talks offer during a press conference, farmers leaders said that they are ready for dialogue with an open mind if they get a concrete proposal, but made it clear they will not accept anything less than a complete repeal of the three agriculture laws and legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
The TMC, which is yet to fully recover from the 2019 Lok Sabha poll setback, when the BJP's tally soared from two to 18, is apprehensive that the AIMIM may act as "spoiler" in several assembly segments.
Fourteen persons were killed in the firing on a demonstration against land acquisition on March 14, leading to a nationwide outrage and the Calcutta high court 'suo motu' ordering a CBI investigation.
With her trademark cotton sari and rubber slippers and her generous doles in rural Bengal, many describe Mamata Banerjee as "ultra left."
The spectre of Singur and now its verdict is looming large on the future of many of Bengal's projects, especially the state government's industrial parks that are vacant. As many more episodes await, the question uppermost on everyone's minds is, how long will Singur haunt Bengal?
'You may be an MP or an MLA; when we go to Bengal, we go as cadre.'
'We should let the dust settle and see how the political equation unfolds in Assam'
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.
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.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said on Friday that she was against imposition of President's rule in West Bengal but reiterated her demand for advancing the May 2011 assembly elections.
If Modi's truly a reformer and a believer in minimum government, he would bury the Vodafone ghosts now. He would also then go to Bihar, campaigning on his politically controversial reforms. Both will need him to dip deep into his accumulated political capital and risk it, suggests Shekhar Gupta.
The embattled Left Front has done one more volte face by deciding to regularise hawkers in Kolkata's busiest streets.
The number of seats that the state parties will win will be much more than the BJP's, she further claimed.
Facing a stiff challenge to stem the decline of the Left Front in West Bengal, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Monday asserted that the alternative to the Left's rule was anarchy and asked supporters not to be demoralised by the success of the opposition."Change for what, anarchy? West Bengal is in no mood to fall behind. We want to move ahead in agriculture, industry, education, health, human development. Is there any substitute to it," Bhattacharjee said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances