With the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Trinamool Congress in the poll arena, the election is expected to be a multi-cornered one this time.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in the state this weekend, while his colleagues Gajendra Shekhawat, Sanjeev Balyan, Prahlad Patel, Arjun Munda and Mansukh Mandaviya will be visiting in the next few days, sources in the party said on Thursday.
One person was critically injured after being hit by a bullet fired accidentally from a police revolver.
Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee were taken to the Central Bureau of Investigation office on Monday in connection with the Narada sting operation, officials said.
The CBI has "sought permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker to prosecute Suvendu Adhikari, Saugata Roy, Prasun Banerjee and Kakali Ghosh Dastidar", who were all TMC MPs when the operation was allegedly conducted, the official explained.
The ruling Trinamool Congress on Tuesday said that the resignation of Laxmi Ratan Shukla as West Bengal minister of state for youth services and sports is unfortunate but it will not affect the party, while the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the former cricketer is welcome to join the saffron camp.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday night formally announced suspension of the 15-day indefinite dharna, saying a final agreement has been arrived at by the West Bengal government on the Singur issue."Since the government has found a formula for the solution of the Singur issue officially, I am suspending the dharna," she said from the dharna manch, addressing a big gathering of cheering party supporters.She thanked Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi.
Former chief minister of Goa and Congress veteran Luizinho Faleiro, resigned as an MLA and a primary member of the party on Monday claiming the state party unit is run by a 'coterie' of leaders even as he praised Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee saying the country needs a leader like her to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Defence Minister said the government is committed to protect the sanctity of Parliament.
The fulcrum of victory or defeat of parties attempting to form a government is held by smaller players and those willing to defect.
TMC's campaign in the seat in south Kolkata is already underway with the Election Commission announcing the by-poll on Saturday, following a request from the state government to avoid a constitutional crisis.
As vice president and ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankar is inheriting a troubled legacy. Although the government faces no real numerical challenges in the Upper House, political and legal challenges are there aplenty.
Opposition parties on Sunday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight others were inducted into the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, saying the ruling party's 'washing machine' has resumed its operation to clean tainted leaders and it was an 'ED-facilitated power grab'.
Among other measures, TMC announced Monday that it had formed coordination committees in all districts comprising senior leaders to look into party members' grievances.
Giving a new poll slogan of 'Khel Zatlo' in Goa, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said an anti-BJP alliance has already taken shape in the coastal state under the banner of her party TMC and now it is for the Congress to decide whether it wants to join the grouping ahead of elections to take on the saffron outfit.
A majority of its Trinamool Congress coucillors switched over to the BJP.
Around 25 BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari then walked out of the assembly, claiming that several party legislators were roughed up by TMC MLAs inside the House.
Vaidyanathan apologised to the court but added that the present plea was filed as another petition challenging a high court order dated April 11, 2022 is pending before the apex court.
Aditi Phadnis picks five key seats in the three states where assembly elections are being held today.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Parivartan Yatra' is not for changing a chief minister, MLA or minister but ending infiltration and transforming the condition of West Bengal.
Polling was by and large peaceful in the bypolls for three Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats spread across five states and Delhi on Thursday barring an incident of stabbing of a policeman in Tripura, where polling was the highest at 76.62 per cent.
I am not ruling out possibility of joining Cong again, says Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra.
Hours after quitting as the MLA of the West Bengal Assembly, Rajib Banerjee on Friday resigned from the primary membership of the Trinamool Congress, intensifying speculation that he might soon switch over to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Noted economist and senior Trinamool Congress leader Amit Mitra is likely to step down as the West Bengal finance minister and even retire from active politics due to ill health, party sources said on Sunday.
'The TMC forgets that if people don't stand by you, your party will never win.'
After the video clip of his comments went viral, Giri apologised for making such a remark.
Naturally, the West Bengal chief minister is not leaving anything to chance, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
A senior TMC MLA said Banerjee told her party leaders during the closed-door meeting that they should shun "VIP culture".
Speculations were rife that the former batting great will join the BJP ahead of the state assembly elections.
Bhaichung Bhutia will have a straight fight with former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey.
The Congress on Friday suspended two of its legislators for voting for the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha biennial election for five seats in West Bengal.
Bypoll to the Bhabanipur assembly seat in West Bengal, from where chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee plans to contest, would be held on September 30, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.
Dhankhar, who took to cricket in his school days and also had keen interest in spirituality and meditation, began his political journey with the Janata Dal and won the Lok Sabha elections in 1989.
'I did get a ticket, but getting nominated isn't enough.' 'The people in Habibpur, my own party workers, are my opponents.' 'Is it possible to win?'
Three persons were shot dead and several others were injured as violence and arson marked the conclusion of nomination filing for the three-tier West Bengal panchayat polls slated next month.
A case has been registered in Tripura against Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, member of Parliament Dola Sen, West Bengal education minister Bratya Basu and other senior leaders of the party for allegedly obstructing police officers from performing their duties.
The lowest victory margin of 76 was recorded in St Andre constituency in North Goa, where Revolutionary Goans Party, a new political outfit in the state, made its debut by defeating BJP candidate and sitting MLA Francis Silveira. RGP candidate Viresh Borkar won the contest.
West Bengal, which is governed by the Trinamool Congress, became the second state after Congress-ruled Punjab, where such a resolution has been tabled and passed.
The opposition is likely to put up a joint candidate for the July 18 presidential election despite not having numbers on its side, and consultations in this regard have already begun.
