The situation in these violence-hit places remained tense on Saturday morning, but no untoward incident was reported, officials said.
The combined Left parties drew a blank in the polls to the assembly which they had run with an overwhelming majority for 34 long years, with their vote share dwindling to a mere 5.47 per cent in 2021.
Despite being in the Opposition in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is 'setting' the agenda for the state government. In the past weeks, the government has taken three major policy decisions for which the Trinamool Congress had been agitating to make a public opinion.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked party activists to strengthen the party in West Bengal so that it could be a deciding factor in the forthcoming elections and said he wanted an alliance with the Trinamool Congress on honourable terms.
West Bengal is poised to become the rape capital of India, but its chief minister refuses to face reality, says Debosmita Sarkar.
In the wake of two members of the coalition demanding advancing of the 2011 Assembly elections following its repeated electoral debacles in West Bengal, the ruling Left Front has issued a gag order on public airing of views by leaders that contradicts its policy decisions.
A TMC legislator in West Bengal has allegedly threatened to pour acid in the throat of anyone criticizing migrant workers from the state, sparking controversy and condemnation from opposition parties.
West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh was on Friday summoned to the state assembly and ordered to pay Rs 1000 as 'punishment' by Speaker H A Halim for taking a photo in the House with his mobile. The Speaker asked the DGP, who was produced by the marshal in a temporary dock set up in the well of the assembly, whether he had taken a photo in the House with his mobile phone camera on Thursday.
West Bengal: Congress to field candidates in all 294 constituencies
81 per cent voter turnout recorded in West Bengal, 80 per cent in Assam.
Over 10.56 lakh voters have been deleted from Assam's electoral rolls following a Special Revision, ahead of upcoming assembly elections. The revision included house-to-house verification and aims to create an error-free electoral roll.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
Amid the ongoing impasse over the swearing-in of two newly elected Trinamool Congress MLAs, Speaker Biman Banerjee on Thursday summoned a special session of the West Bengal Assembly and asserted that the functioning of the House is not solely dependent on the Governor.
Around 67 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise right on Tuesday in the by-elections at Bankura in West Bengal while the figure was 73 per cent at Daspur, officials said.
Newly appointed Bharatiya Janata Party national working president Nitin Nabin on Monday termed his elevation as a blessing of the party and claimed that it is the only political outfit that allows its grassroots workers to thrive.
Mamata Banerjee was on Friday sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive time, heading a 42-member ministry.
There cannot be a complete ban on firecrackers and the mechanism to stop their misuse has to be strengthened, the Supreme Court said on Monday setting aside the Calcutta High Court order banning firecrackers during Kali Puja, Diwali and other festivals this year to check air pollution amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nitin Nabin, a five-time Bihar MLA, has been elected unopposed as the BJP national president, becoming the youngest person to hold the position. His appointment signals a generational shift in the party's leadership as it prepares for key state elections.
Madhya Pradesh Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Inder Singh Parmar has sparked controversy by saying that social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a 'British agent' who started a 'vicious cycle of religious conversion', prompting the Trinamool Congress to call the remarks an insult to Bengal.
The decision came amid rising concerns in the city's red-light districts over difficulties in completing SIR enumeration forms.
Protesters in West Bengal's Murshidabad district set fire to police vehicles and hurled stones during a demonstration against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the Jangipur area, where a large crowd had gathered demanding the withdrawal of the legislation. Police responded with lathi charges and tear gas to control the situation. Several people were detained and police personnel were injured in the stone-pelting. The West Bengal Police has said the situation is under control and strict action will be taken against those who resorted to violence.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading lies and criminalising poverty over the detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, while the saffron party charged the Mamata Banerjee dispensation with providing shelters to illegal immigrants.
Will Mamata's bhasha andolan campaign sway Bengal's bhadralok before the 2026 election in the TMC's favour?
Clue: He was appointed to an important position recently...
Both Mr Modi and Amit Shah like Nabin because they know he will never answer back, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Banerjee, however, didn't give a breakup of the actual salaries of the lawmakers after the hike including all allowances and extra pay as members of the various standing committees.
Indrani Roy/Rediff.com explains what strengthened the saffron party's foothold in this eastern region of the country
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Karat dismissed a suggestion that the CPI (M) considered the EC as its 'enemy.'
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
Chatterjee had quit the TMC in November 2018, resigning as minister, mayor and district president, citing personal reasons.
The situation in Muslim-dominated Murshidabad district of West Bengal, which was marred by incidents of violence following protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, was calm and peaceful on Wednesday with no reports of any untoward incident. Prohibitory orders were clamped in and around Raghunathganj and Suti police station areas and large police force deployed in all sensitive areas of the district, especially in and around Jangipur town, where a large number of people had assembled on Tuesday afternoon, demanding the withdrawal of the legislation. Internet connectivity remained suspended within the areas under the Jangipur sub-division to prevent the spread of any disinformation. Protestors, who had gathered in large numbers on the NH-12 in the Jangipur area to protest against the Waqf Bill, hurled stones at the police who were deployed in the area, on Tuesday afternoon. A couple of vehicles belonging to the police were allegedly torched during the protest and police had to resort to lathi-charge and use tear gas shells to bring the situation under control. A few policemen were injured in the stone pelting. Police have also detained a few people in connection with the incident. West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose condemned the incident and said attempts to disturb the law and order situation in the state "should be put down with an iron hand". The opposition BJP alleged that the law and order situation in the state was "crumbling" under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was busy with "minority appeasement". The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday, and by the Rajya Sabha in the early hours of Friday after marathon debates in both Houses of Parliament. The Act aims to streamline the management of Waqf properties (assets permanently donated by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes) with provisions to safeguard heritage sites and promote social welfare. It also seeks to improve governance by enhancing transparency in property management, streamlining coordination between Waqf boards and local authorities and protecting stakeholders' rights.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demands cancellation of civic elections where candidates won unopposed, alleging corruption and manipulation by ruling parties. He also criticizes the Maharashtra legislative assembly speaker and the misuse of BMC funds.
Sukumaran Nair said he had noted Natesan's remarks and that a decision would be taken after a meeting scheduled for January 21.
The rally was not allowed to proceed towards the South Calcutta Law College, where the 24-year-old student was allegedly gang-raped by three men, including an alumnus of the institute, on June 25.
In a measured but scathing attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of committing a 'big sin' by creating a controversy over Vande Mataram and claimed that the government pushed for a debate on the national song as the West Bengal assembly polls were approaching.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
'Women are likely to have voted because of the numerous welfare schemes. The CAA consolidated minority votes and the BJP's booth-level organisation in Bengal is weak.'
Voters in 30 assembly constituencies of West Bengal and 47 of Assam exercised their franchise on Saturday.
The elections are not only a means for TMC to prove its wide, unopposed mass allegiance but also a way to bargain for national leadership among regional political parties in the road to New Delhi.
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