The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to display the names of those on the 'logical discrepancies' list at various public offices in West Bengal, addressing concerns about irregularities in the voter rolls.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the TMC, accusing them of prioritizing vote-bank politics over national security and Bengali identity by promoting infiltration. He also highlighted the BJP's vision for a developed and prosperous Bengal, promising a clean break from the past.
'The chief minister believes the poorest of the poor have the first right on government resources.'
The perception is backed by the Economic Review, which said in 2012, only 12 industrial units were set up at an investment of Rs 312 crore (Rs 3.12 billion), compared with 322 units that accounted for around Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) investment in 2011.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday pulled the plug from the United Progressive Alliance government over the issues of FDI in retail and the recent hike in diesel prices. Following is her statement
Emerging from a meeting with UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee in Kolkata on Monday, Congress MPs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Deepa Dasmunshi lashed out at the TMC for "spreading canards" against Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee and demanded immediate severance of all ties with the party.
Addressing a party rally in Midnapore, Shah alleged the Mamata Banerjee government was steeped in corruption resulting in alienation of the masses.
Whether the age-old cry of kendrer banchana will be able to drown out pangs of Sandeshkhali, the EVM will tell.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused NIA officials of attacking villagers in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP hit back at her saying that the attack on the NIA officials is Sandeshkhalli 2.0 orchestrated by the state.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday termed the cancellation of over 25,000 school jobs as 'gross injustice' and alleged that it was a ploy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to stop these job losers from being deployed in poll duty.
Banerjee has already allowed one in power rates, besides making milk dearer.
If popular is white and populism black, then Mamata Banerjee is a curious shade of grey that may be hard to spot in the colour charts.
She said the Centre was contemplating framing a new land policy after her movement in Singur.
Drawing parallels between the victory of Trinamool Congress in West Bengal elections and the "freedom struggle", its chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday promised good governance and vowed to end "autocracy and atrocities".
The Trinamool Congress rose like a phoenix from the Singur and Nandigram movements chipping away at the hold of the Left Front to sweep into the portals of power in West Bengal after 34 years of uninterrupted Marxist rule. The land agitation in Singur and Nandigram is widely credited for Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's meteoric rise and the dramatic change in her political fortunes
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that she worked hard not as the chief executive of the state, but as a common person.
The war of words between Trinamool Congress and Congress on Wednesday intensified with Mamata Banerjee saying her party was not in the United Progressive Alliance at anyone's "mercy".
Buoyed by the remarkable showing of her party in the civic elections in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday demanded immediate Assembly elections, saying that Left Front major CPI(M) has lost all right to continue in power.
The Trinamool Congress on Saturday launched its slogan for the upcoming assembly elections -- 'Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaye', adding to the shrill insider vs outsider debate while portraying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the daughter of Bengal.
The BJP, which has emerged as the main opposition party in West Bengal after winning 77 seats in the assembly polls last year, failed to win even a single civic body.
All the winners in the assembly bypolls were from the respective ruling parties.
BJP workers staged a protest in front of Nimta police station and burnt tyres on M B Road, even as the TMC claimed that its activists were not involved in any attack and she might have died due to age-related ailments.
First, Mamata's pampering of lawless elements masquerading as Trinamool Congress cadres. Second, her promotion of her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, as a possible successor and the adoption of Prashant Kishor as her political adviser. Neither has gone down well with either her followers or the public, observes Amulya Ganguli.
He also accused the TMC government of politicising the administration and criminalising the police.
Noting that the Trinamool Congress which boasts of the slogan 'Maa Mati Mansuh' (Mother, Land and people) actually indulges in extortion, corruption and appeasement, Shah exuded confidence of forming the next government in the state and take it to the path of development.
Mamata Banerjee's party won 132 seats and was all set to pocket two more to post a hat-trick of wins, decimating a frail challenge from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left Front and the Congress, officials said.
PM Modi said WB CM Mamata had boycotted meetings called by the Centre to discuss the issue of states' development and had failed to bring in any transformation to the state.
Left high and dry, the BJP has had no option but to go for the overkill with 800 rallies, including 20 by the prime minister. In the process, it may be overplaying its card, observes Amulya Ganguli.
In a balancing act after massive protests in Kolkata over rise in rapes in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday had sharp words for intellectuals who had deserted her, while appealing for help to raise social awareness against such crimes.
The prime minister also launched a blistering attack on Banerjee, saying she did not care to express regret after a "leader very close to her" called Scheduled Castes "beggars".
'With sufficient gaps between polling dates, the BJP will have time to convert the 'fence-sitter' votes,' observes Payal Mohanka.
The Congress failed to win even a single seat in the polls.
The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday swept the municipal polls in Bengal, capturing four of seven civic bodies and breaking the 10-year-old hold of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the hills.
He also accused her of nepotism by choosing to play the limited role of "bua" (aunt) to her "bhatija" (nephew) instead of becoming "Didi" (elder sister) to the people.
In a deviation from the usual venue of Raj Bhavan, the event of May 27, will be held on the Red Road, one of the arterial roads in Kolkata that houses the Fort William where the Army is headquartered. And, it will remain blocked for at least five days, probably more.
Referring to the violence in Malda, he refuted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that it was a result of tussle between Border Security Force officials and locals.
The bypolls are considered to be important ahead of the assembly elections in 2016.
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'.
According to Modi, the TMC's 'political syndicate' rules in the land of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jana-Gana-Mana' and pursues appeasement and vote bank politics.
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