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Mamata Banerjee
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said if the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls affects the outcome of the West Bengal assembly elections, it would set a dangerous precedent, against which the political parties need to safeguard themselves. Responding to a question about the high drama outside a strong room at Bhabanipur in Kolkata on Thursday night, he said it is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's right to deploy people to guard the EVMs. "I have always said that I do not accept pre-poll rigging, and that safeguarding the EVMs after the polls is our responsibility. We used to do the same when there were ballot boxes; we would keep our people outside the strong room. So, it was Mamata Banerjee's right to keep people outside the strong room, and she did it," he told reporters here. Abdullah said vote theft is happening through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and not EVMs. "There is a difference between EVM (hacking) and what they are
Voting began on Wednesday in 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, amid unprecedented security arrangements and a high-stakes contest that could decide whether the ruling TMC retains its dominance over southern districts or the BJP can force open the gates of power in the state. Polling started at 7 am with voters lining up outside booths across Kolkata, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman - districts that together form the political and electoral core of the state. Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round shifts the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt. In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. That arithmetic explains why the BJP has treated this phase as its real test. Without breaching south Bengal, there is little route to power in the state. At the centre of the conte
The Calcutta High Court has reprimanded the West Bengal government for failing to comply with its order to hand over land to the BSF to fence the India-Bangladesh border in the state, noting that only eight-kilometre stretches of the 127 km have been given to the border guarding force so far. On January 27, a division bench presided by Chief Justice Sujoy Paul had directed the state government to hand over 127 km of land "already acquired/purchased", for which "compensation" had been "received by the state government from the Centre", to the BSF by March 31. Castigating the state for not handing over the entire 127 kms of land to the BSF in nine districts by the end of March, the high court on April 22 directed the state government to file a detailed affidavit within two weeks, informing it of the steps taken to comply with its January order. It expressed displeasure over the state government handing over just eight kilometres of land instead of the 127 km as ordered by the ...
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the BJP has deployed its entire machinery to defeat the regional party in the West Bengal assembly elections as almost the entire Union cabinet and CMs of NDA-ruled states are camping in the poll-bound state. Addressing an election rally at Uttarpara in Hooghly district, Banerjee accused the BJP of giving false promises to migrant workers from West Bengal employed outside the state. "The BJP is desperate, with 50 helicopters flying into West Bengal as almost the entire Union cabinet, from the PM to home, railway and defence ministers, as well as CMs of 19 NDA-ruled states camping in a single state West Bengal," the chief minister said. Compare this with only three helicopters being used by the TMC to campaign across the state. But all this hype and sound and fury will end in a whimper on May 4, she said. "On top of this, we are seeing central forces wherever we are going. They are bringing in armoured vehicles which are not put to
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that "logical discrepancy" under the SIR exercise is not an officially recognised term under the Election Commission framework and was selectively applied in West Bengal, unlike Bihar, to benefit the BJP. Addressing a public rally at Pingla in Paschim Medinipur district, she said she has not seen a "dirty party" like the BJP. The West Bengal chief minister, urging people to vote against the BJP, said, "The BJP has snatched everything from you... Voting against it would be your only way to take revenge." The BJP is holding rallies at places that have direct railway connectivity with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar so that they can bring in people from those states to fill up the venues, she alleged. Elections to the 294-member assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and the votes will be counted on May 4.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the BJP was threatening TMC candidates, including state ministers, seeking their support if the saffron party falls short of the majority mark after the assembly elections. She also alleged that the BJP government at the Centre wants to carry out a delimitation exercise to trifurcate West Bengal, and that parts of the state could be merged with Bihar or Odisha, and it would result in hardships for the Bengalis living in those areas. Addressing poll rallies at Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman, Chhatna and Onda in Bankura district and Khandagosh in Purba Bardhaman, Banerjee said, "The BJP is threatening TMC candidates, including state ministers, seeking their support if it falls short of the majority mark after the assembly elections." The majority mark in the West Bengal assembly is 148. The BJP won 77 seats in the 2021 polls. "The BJP is planning to bring in a delimitation bill to divide West Bengal into three parts. It
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the BJP bribes voters before elections, and called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls the "country's biggest scam" in recent times. Addressing a rally at Khandaghosh in Purba Bardhaman district, Banerjee claimed that the BJP would "snatch everything" from the people of West Bengal if it came to power in the state. "The BJP bribes voters before the elections. But they forget their promises soon after the polling is over. That was seen in the Bihar elections," Banerjee said. The TMC chief further alleged that the BJP would try to manipulate the polling process to win the election and urged the people to remain alert and keep a tab on the voting machines. "Be alert about the voting machines. The BJP has planned slow voting and slow counting. Foil all their plans," Banerjee said. "The SIR is the biggest scam the country has seen in recent times," she said, further predicting that the BJP government
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the BJP, with the help of the Election Commission, tried to get her candidature from Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata cancelled by attempting to file false cases against her, but the bid was foiled by TMC workers and the public. Banerjee, while addressing an election rally at Keshiyari in Paschim Medinipur district, accused the BJP of "forcefully" deleting the names of 90 lakh voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). "The BJP, with the EC's help, tried to invalidate my candidature from Bhabanipur by trying to file false cases against me, but we foiled their game plan," Banerjee, who is contesting against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari to retain her seat, said without elaborating further. She accused the BJP of "plotting to forcefully capture votes through fraudulent means as they don't have the guts to fight and win the elections democratically". "This is why they are ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sharpened the BJP's pitch on infiltration and welfare in poll-bound West Bengal and promised that the process of granting citizenship to Matua and Namasudra refugee families will speed up once the party comes to power. Addressing a rally at Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district, Modi said the BJP had brought in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to grant citizenship to refugees and accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of trying to spread fear among them. "I want to tell the Matua and Namasudra refugee families that they are under the protection of the country's Constitution. Modi enacted the CAA law so that Matua, Namasudra, and all refugees get citizenship," he said. The PM also said, "After the BJP government is formed, the process of granting citizenship under CAA will be accelerated for all eligible applicants." The remarks are significant in a state where the Matua community, spread across several districts of south Bengal, is seen as an ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the ruling TMC over alleged lawlessness and accused the ruling party of encouraging infiltration and unleashing 'maha jungleraj'. Addressing an election rally here in Birbhum district, he alleged the Trinamool Congress' slogan of 'Maa-Mati-Manush' (mother, land, people) has become nothing more than rhetoric. "Cottage industry has been declining in West Bengal, while the TMC has turned making crude bombs into a cottage industry," Modi said. The Bogtui carnage of 2022, in which around 10 women and children were burnt alive in the district, bears testimony to the TMC's 'maha jungle raj', the Prime Minister asserted. "Land grabbing by infiltrators under the TMC regime has reached dangerous proportions. Infiltrators are usurping the jobs of locals by accepting contract work for less money. They will be deported and their facilitators jailed after the BJP comes to power in Bengal," he said. Modi charged the TMC with insulting adivasis,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal for its alleged misrule and appealed to voters to oust the TMC from power in the upcoming assembly polls. Addressing a gathering in Haldia, the backyard of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Modi said that the ruling dispensation in the state was "pulling Bengal back". "The country is walking on the path of progress, while TMC's 'nirmam sarkar' is pulling Bengal back. To usher in 'Viksit Bengal', it's essential that the party is removed from power," he claimed. He also alleged that the "TMC cheated Bengal's youth on two counts -- destroyed the private sector and looted government posts for money". "Investment does not come in an atmosphere of fear, but in a climate of trust that the BJP will bring in Bengal," Modi said at the industrial hub. He accused the TMC of following a "religion-based reservation policy to secure its vote bank". "People's huge attendance at Haldia rally despite
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP of deleting names of over 90 lakh people from the voter lists to grab power in the state and asserted that her party will win the upcoming elections. Addressing a public rally at Minakhan in North 24 Parganas, the TMC supremo said the ruling party would move a court to ensure that all those deleted from the electoral rolls are reinstated. "You deleted names of over 90 lakh people to grab power in Bengal, but we will win," she said while attacking the BJP over the Special Intensive Revision exercise in the state. Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the SIR exercise in the state. The TMC supremo also alleged, "People are being tortured in BJP-ruled states for speaking in Bengali. It terms Bengali as a foreign language, and described Bengali-speaking people as infiltrators.