The social media handles of the Bharatiya Janata Party were abuzz with memes and jibes targeted at Congress and Rahul Gandhi on Friday, soon after the bumper performance of the saffron party in the Bihar assembly polls, with the party's Assam unit apologising for upsetting the 'national child' on Children's Day.
'Nitish Kumar may be marginalised as an office-holder, but that is not the same thing as the disappearance of Nitish Kumar's politics.'
The Election Commission suspended four officers and a casual worker in West Bengal for alleged dereliction of duty and lapses in preparing electoral rolls. The action follows allegations of electoral roll compromise at the behest of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
According to Election Commission data, Bhabanipur had 2,06,295 voters as of January 2025. The draft rolls now carry 1,61,509 names, indicating that 44,787 voters, nearly 21.7 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted.
Election officials said a report on the incident has been sought from the district officials.
Opposition parties are questioning the Election Commission's intentions behind the second phase of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories. The BJP has slammed the Congress and called the opposition a 'herd of dissatisfied souls'.
Hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were underway in West Bengal, focusing on 'unmapped' voters who are unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll. Many people are being asked to prove their citizenship.
As the West Bengal chief minister was busy containing the fallout of an internecine feud in her TMC following a rebellion by a redoubtable Suvendu Adhikari, the Centre shot off a fresh letter to her government to immediately relieve three IPS officers for central deputation.
The second phase of the Systematic Integration of Rolls (SIR) in West Bengal is causing distress among elderly, disabled, and vulnerable voters, leading to political accusations ahead of the assembly polls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata against Enforcement Directorate searches linked to I-PAC, signaling a show of strength ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The march featured cultural elements and participation from party members and celebrities.
Despite his influence, Pratik Jain avoids the spotlight. Credit is routinely passed on to colleagues. He maintains no visible faction within the TMC, no personal coterie.
81 per cent voter turnout recorded in West Bengal, 80 per cent in Assam.
A plea challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct assembly elections over eight phases in West Bengal was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday.
Over 130 Lok Sabha and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging partisan conduct and obstruction of electoral fraud investigations.
Donation boxes kept for the proposed Babri masjid-style mosque by suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir in West Bengal's Murshidabad district are nearly full, with cash-counting machines whirring through the night as donations continue to pour in both physically and online.
Union Home Minister and top Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah on Thursday set a target of 200 out of the total 294 seats in the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections and to come to power in the state, party sources said.
Earlier last week, the Election Commission had written to all national and state parties asking them to follow all COVID-related guidelines during public meetings, rallies and other activities.
A major controversy has erupted in West Bengal after a TMC MLA announced plans to lay the foundation stone of a mosque modeled on the Babri Masjid, leading to political backlash and concerns over communal polarization.
Kabir cut a ceremonial ribbon alongside visiting clerics on the dais as slogans of "Nara-e-Takbeer, Allahu Akbar" were raised at the venue, where thousands had gathered since morning.
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.
A Delhi court has remanded I-PAC co-founder Vinesh Chandel to the Enforcement Directorate's custody for 10 days in connection with a money laundering case involving alleged diversion of funds worth crores of rupees.
Political consultancy firm I-PAC has reacted to the Enforcement Directorate's raids at its Kolkata premises, calling it an "unsettling precedent." The raids have triggered political upheaval in West Bengal, where elections are due in months. The firm, engaged by the TMC, said it would continue to work in an "unfazed and unperturbed" manner.
Bihar MP Rajesh Ranjan, also known as Pappu Yadav, has faced criticism for his controversial remarks regarding women's reservation in Parliament, with his comments sparking outrage and prompting a notice from the Bihar Women's Commission.
Eid al-Fitr was celebrated across India with prayers for peace and brotherhood, alongside protests condemning US-Israel actions in West Asia.
Voting is being held at 11,860 polling stations spread over 11 assembly constituencies each in Murshidabad and Birbhum, six in Malda and seven in north Kolkata.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to deploy 125 companies of central forces in West Bengal by February 25 for the ensuing assembly elections, a senior official said on Friday.
The Trinamool Congress MP said he is unable to bear various incidents that are happening in West Bengal.
The state will be referred to as Bangla in Hindi and Bengal in English.
'We said that our party will abide by all COVID-19 protocols put in place by the Election Commission, and urged that no steps be taken that discriminates those voting in the next phases from those who have already exercised their franchise'
It's a political gambit aimed at the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari who won the seat in 2016 as a TMC candidate, while also retroceding to the land movement that catapulted her to power.
Turning her guns on the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the BJP had "stolen" the mandate in Maharashtra with the poll panel's help and was now attempting to replicate it in Bengal through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise by deleting genuine voters' names.
The state's final electoral rolls would be published by February 15.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announces legal action against the Election Commission's electoral roll revision, alleging disenfranchisement and procedural flaws.
Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP president, said, "Amit Shah has set a target of 35 seats. We will achieve that".
Riding a scooter, Union minister Smriti Irani led a rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday as she campaigned for the upcoming West Bengal elections in the South 24 Parganas district.
Normal life was partially affected in West Bengal on Thursday following a state-wide 12-hour general strike called by Left Parties and trade unions, with the Bharatiya Janata Party also calling a 10-hour bandh to protest against alleged violence by ruling Trinamool Congress in the recent civic polls.
Several opposition parties on Wednesday decided to jointly oppose the delimitation provisions in the Constitution amendment bill in Parliament, even as they reiterated support for women's reservation, with Mallikarjun Kharge alleging the move is politically motivated.
A family feud within the politically influential Matua community has erupted between Union minister Shantanu Thakur and his brother, BJP MLA Subrata Thakur, creating ripples in West Bengal's political landscape and posing a challenge for the BJP ahead of upcoming elections.
An MP from Baharampur since 1999 and the reigning Pradesh Congress president of West Bengal, this was perhaps Chowdhury's toughest electoral challenge which came in the form Pathan, the non-resident TMC candidate.
The Calcutta High Court overturned a single bench order that annulled the appointments of 32,000 primary school teachers in West Bengal, stating that irregularities were not proven in all recruitments. The decision brings relief to the teachers and is seen as a boost for the TMC-led state government.
