The erstwhile Left Front government had earmarked 1000 acres at Singur for the Nano car plant but the acquisition of the multi-crop land from unwilling farmers was one of the reasons for its poll debacle after a long stint of 34 years in power.
Assam may throw up a hung assembly with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling Congress there engaged in a neck and neck fight while Left Democratic Front could oust the Congress-led alliance in Kerala, an opinion poll has projected.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) contention that capitalism was the only way to industrialise West Bengal has made Left Front partners aghast.
RSP leader Abani Roy spoke about the reason for pulling out of the UPA-Left co-ordination committee, the Centre's policies, the uneasy relations with the CPI-M and the Left's prospects in the coming general elections.
A Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front government headed by Manik Sarkar assumed office for the fourth consecutive term in Tripura on Monday. Sarkar was sworn in as the chief minister for the fourth time along with 11 ministerial colleagues by Governor Dinesh Nandan Sahaya.
The ruling Left Front on Friday stormed back to power for the fourth consecutive term in Tripura while Meghalaya appeared to be heading for a hung verdict with the ruling Congress emerging as the single largest party. The election to the 60-member Meghalaya assembly threw up a hung House with the ruling Congress emerging as the single largest party bagging 25 out of 59 seats for which polling was held on March three.
In an interview with CNN-IBN, the Trinamool Congress chief explains why she decided to team up with activist Anna Hazare and alleges that the Left Front, the BJP and the Congress have an 'understanding' in Bengal.
Between 71 to 82 per cent polling was registered in five Lok Sabha seats in the eastern states of Tripura, Assam and of Sikkim in the fourth phase of the polls on Saturday.
Last week, Basu had been quoted as saying, "We want capital, both foreign and domestic. After all, we are working in a capitalist system. Socialism is not possible now." Maintaining that Basu's remarks were on the nature of capitalist development in West Bengal and the role of the Left Front government, party general secretary Prakash Karat said, "On the basis of these reports, some political leaders have also come out with equally confused and misplaced reactions."
State party leaders admit that Hindu consolidation by itself was not good enough to unseat Didi.
Breaking her silence over the Saradha scam, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she would quit if allegations of her closeness to the ponzi company was proved.
BJP president Amit Shah, while kickstarting 'Ganatanatra Bachao Yatra' in Bengal, vowed to overthrow the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in the state.
The Left-UPA committee, that has been constituted to look into the apprehensions voiced by the Left Front, is likely to meet on November 18. In the meeting, the Left Front may clear the government's move to approach the international atomic watchdog but without committing anything in writing, Left sources said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during a luncheon meeting with Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan last week, had sought their nod for the government to approach the IAEA.
Last Monday, she termed the Centre's silence over loan repayment restructuring as a 'political vendetta' to ruin Bengal.
The Trinamool Congress has romped back to power in style in West Bengal. However, Bharatiya Janata Party activists and supporters can't help being happy with their performance in the state. The party has received a 10.2 per cent vote share. Sumantra Maity, a BJP activist and Information Technology professional, speaking to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com had predicted the party putting up a respectable show. He explains to Rediff.com the factors that led to the rise in Bharatiya Janata Party's vote share in Bengal.
Communist Party of India General Secretary A B Bardhan warned that if government officials held talks with visiting International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei about the nuclear agreement, the Left Front would withdraw its support to the government. "Let the IAEA chief meet Dr Manmohan Singh and other political dignitaries. But if the govt officials hold talks with El-Baradei about the safeguards of the 123 agreement, we will pull the rug," he threatened.
Accusing Trinamool Congress of creating widespread fear psychosis through "terror and intimidation" in West Bengal, the Left parties on Tuesday sought Election Commission's intervention to ensure free and fair polls.
Anybody living in India is a Hindu, Bhagwat said.
Promising to promote the ailing jute industry in the state, the chief minister said, "If the Centre does not make use of jute bags mandatory for packaging, the state will do it."
In a huge embarrassment for the Left Front, a Commission of Inquiry into the police firing on a Youth Congress movement in 1993 killing 13 persons on Monday said that it was worse than the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday admitted to the complicity of his partymen in the killing of nine villagers at Netai in January, 2011 during his tenure as Chief Minister of West Bengal, which had caused a nationwide outcry.
The automobile firm's response came in reply to an earlier specific query of the apex court asking it to make its stand clear over the allotted land in the wake of changed scenario as the company had already moved its car plant to Gujarat.
The same political aide to chief minister's office who had spoken to rediff.com about Bhattacharjee's intent to step down on Monday said over telephone a day after, "I have never seen Buddhababu so perturbed as he was yesterday."
The Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India finalised a strategy to put pressure on the CPM to maintain coalition dharma
Just as political battles hot up along with rural polls in West Bengal, a certain report in the most circulated regional daily Anandabazar Patrika has caused major discomfort for the Left Front.
On Wednesday, a police party, including DIB's Sadhu Chatterjee, went to the area for routine enquiry. But soon they were surrounded by a large mob, which assaulted them.
Calling the United Progressive Alliance a "minority government" and ruling out the possibility of a Third Front government, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday claimed that the National Democratic Alliance would come to power after the 2014 elections.
The group's major investments in Bengal are from Tata Metaliks, Tata Consultancy Services, Indian Hotels and Tata Hitachi.
The implementation of the NRC as nothing but a political vendetta of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government, she told the assembly.
The chief minister said the situation was not a crisis and dubbed the protesters Communist Party of India-Marxist cadres.
Defending its proposal for the formation of a Federal Front, the Trinamool Congress on Saturday said such an idea is relevant in the current political scenario as the United Progressive Alliance was slipping fast and the Bharatiya Janata Party was unable to come up sufficiently to be an alternative.
The Left has said the amendments will make the RTI useless.
The base camps of Pamba and Nilackal witnessed intensified protests as the Lord Ayyappa temple opens for the five-day monthly pooja on Wednesday evening, for the first time after the landmark top court verdict.
'There are many able, good, police officers in Bengal who are capable of handling this situation, but without Mamata Banerjee nothing moves.'
'The chief minister has to remember that the people of Bengal have suffered a lot. They waited for three decades for a change in rule. Hence, they are impatient and want fast and effective action.' Legendary writer Mahasweta Devi rates the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal.
'You cannot win an election without putting together a massive war chest.' 'It is impossible to put a war chest together, without giving and taking favours from India Inc, with a large dose of extortion thrown in,' says Devangshu Datta.
Govt, however, is readying new Bill that will give it more teeth to deal with such scams.
In a virulent attack on the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Bandopadhyay on Monday threatened to 'break the hands' of the CPI-M cadre if the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was attacked again.
A total of 259 companies of paramilitary force personnel are patrolling and keeping vigil all over Tripura where campaigning for the February 14 assembly election is going on in full swing.
Three-way contest, an advantage for CPI-M in West Bengal
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