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The Trinamool Congress on Saturday launched its campaign song for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections, asserting that the party would return to power for a fourth consecutive term. The song's launch comes two days after a stand-off between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over raids at the TMC's IT cell chief Pratik Jain's residence and office here. "Bengal will win again despite all attacks against it," the main refrain of the campaign song says, asserting, "We march on a new path with a new direction, your darkness will lose against the new dawn." The lyrics also make references to political issues. "We will not be afraid of the SIR or NRC, there is still time for you to recognise Mother Bengal's strength," goes the song's lyrics, which is accompanied by a video showcasing Mamata Banerjee and the party second-in-command Abhisekh Banerjee. The TMC has been vehemently criticising the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral .
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday described West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a "tigress", saying the TMC chief is "very brave" and will not surrender. Mufti was reacting to the Thursday's ED searches at the office of the political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata. The action ignited high drama with the West Bengal chief minister storming at the raid site, alleging that the central agency was trying to seize the TMC's sensitive data ahead of the state polls. Mufti said that while such raids by ED or other investigative agencies has become a normal thing in Jammu and Kashmir, "the whole country is tasting it now". "When Article 370 was revoked, when raids took place and when three CMs were put behind bars, majority of political parties maintained silence. Now, that is being witnessed across the country," she added, referring to the detention of herself, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah in the wake of the abrogation of .
The TMC on Friday moved the Calcutta High Court against the ED raids at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its chief here, seeking restraint on misuse and dissemination of documents seized during the search operations. The ruling party in West Bengal, in its petition, alleged that the ED seized sensitive and confidential political data meant for the TMC's use in the upcoming assembly elections, in a display of arbitrary, mala fide, and colourable exercise of power. PTI has accessed the synopsis of the petition, which refers to the probe agency's search and seizure operations under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, on January 8. The ED maintained that the operations were part of a probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam. The petitioner submits that the seized articles and electronic data consist of confidential political data/information/documents relating to campaign strategy, internal assessments, resear
Trinamool Congress MPs on Friday staged a protest outside the Home Ministry's office here against alleged misuse of probe agencies by the Centre following which they were detained by Delhi Police. TMC leaders claimed they were forcefully evicted from the spot when they were holding the protest. The protest came a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out raids at the office of political consultancy I-PAC and the residence of its chief. A police officer said TMC MPs Derek O'Brien and Mahua Moitra along with other party leaders were detained and taken to Parliament Street Police Station. "They will be released shortly," the officer said, adding the protest was not permitted outside the Home Ministry's office due to prohibitory orders and security concerns. Holding placards and raising slogans alleging misuse of the ED, eight MPs of the TMC tried to enter the Kartavya Bhawa, which houses the Home Ministry. The MPs were stopped from entering the building, after which the
West Bengal's Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said the BJP will roll out 'Chorder Panchali' tableaux across his Purba Medinipur district to make the people aware of the alleged misdeeds of the Trinamool Congress government. Adhikari alleged the 'Unnayaner Panchali' (chronicles of development) campaign launched by the TMC government were spreading lies about the Narendra Modi government and the opposition parties in the state. "Though people can now see through the deceit of Trinamool Congress, still, the BJP needs to counter the campaign and make people see the real truth. From tomorrow, we will roll out 'Choreder Panchali' (tales of theft) tableaux across Purba Medinipur, including Nandigram," he told reporters on the sidelines of a rally in his constituency. Addressing the rally, Adhikari alleged the Hindus of Nandigram were living in fear of "jihadi elements" sheltered by the ruling party. "What happens when Hindus fail to unite can be clearly seen across t
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday sought to reclaim political ground in north Bengal by promising a sharp hike in daily wages of tea garden workers, placing labour welfare at the centre of the party's pitch for the 2026 Assembly elections in a tea belt that has largely tilted towards the BJP since 2019. Addressing a rally-cum-interaction with tea garden workers in Alipurduar, Banerjee said that if the TMC returns to power for a fourth consecutive term, the daily wage of tea workers would be raised to Rs 300 after a tripartite meeting involving the state government, garden owners and workers' representatives. "Daily wages of Rs 250 are not enough to run a household given the rise in prices. I give you my word -- within 30 days of the next government being formed, a tripartite meeting will be held, and within seven days of that, the process to ensure Rs 300 daily wages will begin," Banerjee said, responding to questions from workers. The assurance followed .
The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing him of peddling falsehoods and making baseless claims about securing a two-thirds majority in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Senior TMC leader and state education minister Bratya Basu told reporters that Shah's remarks were based on hollow assertions and claimed that the BJP would not even cross the 50-seat mark in the polls. "Shah will keep coming and going like a tourist. Such visits will serve no purpose," Basu said on the sidelines of a programme. "The BJP will not even cross the 50-mark in the assembly polls and suffer a humiliating defeat," Basu claimed. Addressing a press conference here, Shah claimed that the BJP would form the next government in the state with a "two-thirds majority in 2026". "We will not only identify infiltrators, but we'll also drive them out. Bengal will have a new BJP government after April 15, 2026, as people have made up their minds," he said. TMC ...
A 10-member Trinamool Congress delegation will meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on December 31 on the issue of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, a source said on Saturday. According to the source, the delegation, which will include Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien, Trinamool leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively, will raise the issue of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. The ruling party of Bengal has been raising concerns over the SIR exercise for some time now. On Saturday, Banerjee, the national general secretary of the party, demanded that the Election Commission (EC) must come out with the number of illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas out of the 58.20 lakh names deleted in the draft electoral rolls published for West Bengal under the SIR. On November 28, a Trinamool delegation had met the full bench of the EC, alleging deaths of booth-level officers (BLOs) due to the "work pressure" o
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday said that the Election Commission must come out with the number of illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas out of the 58.20 lakh names deleted after the publication of draft electoral rolls in West Bengal under the ongoing SIR. Alleging that Bengal was being targeted selectively by the Centre since the TMC won the 2021 assembly polls in the state, he claimed that the "agenda is to harass the people of the state". The Trinamool Congress national general secretary also said that Bengal's population is 10.05 crore, and the number of voter deletions in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is 58.20 lakh. "This is just 5.79 per cent of the population, the lowest among all the states where SIR is being held," Banerjee said while addressing a press conference here. He demanded that the "ECI come out with the number of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas out of 58.20 lakh names deleted".
The Trinamool Congress on Saturday accused the Election Commission (EC) of deleting the names of lakhs of legitimate voters from the electoral rolls under the SIR exercise to help the BJP ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls. A TMC delegation consisting of ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya, Sashi Panja, Aroop Biswas, Manas Bhuniya, Malay Ghatak met Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal at his office and submitted a memorandum listing their grievances. "We are seeing different sets of rules and practices being applied in Bengal compared to other states. In the name of cross-checking absent, shifted and duplicate' voters, the EC has omitted around 58 lakh genuine voters by branding them as unmapped'," Bhattacharya told reporters after the meeting. She alleged that the action seems to be part of the bigger gameplan to delete two crore voters' names from the electoral rolls in order to punish the people of the state for rejecting the BJP repeatedly. Biswas alleged that the mobil
The Trinamool Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Taherpur rally in West Bengal showed his "lack of concern" for the Matuas, who have been facing uncertainties over deletion of names post publication of the draft electoral rolls under the SIR. TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh also claimed that the prime minister did not utter a single word about the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. "Modi's speech lacked vision and responsibility. He did not address the concerns of the Matuas," he told reporters. For the Matuas, a Dalit Hindu refugee community which migrated from Bangladesh over decades following religious persecution, the first state-wide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) since 2002 has created anxieties among voters over identity and citizenship. The names of over 58,20,898 people have been excluded from the draft electoral rolls under SIR, reducing West Bengal's electorate from 7.66 crore to 7.08 .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked BJP MPs from West Bengal to effectively counter the Trinamool Congress-led government in the state and work towards winning the assembly elections next year. BJP MPs from West Bengal met the prime minister, along with Khagen Murmu -- the Lok Sabha member from Maldah Uttar -- who was attacked by a mob in October. Modi enquired about Murmu's well being and told BJP members from the state to counter the West Bengal government to save democracy in the state. "The prime minister told us to keep fighting the West Bengal government to save democracy. We will remove this government. The prime minister told us that we have to win these elections and we will win the elections," Sukanta Majumdar, president of the West Bengal unit of the BJP, told reporters after the meeting. Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said the prime minister praised the dedication and tireless efforts of the BJP workers in West Bengal and highlighted their role in public outreach
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to address over 12,000 traders at the Byabasayi Sammelan 2025' here on December 17, in a major outreach to the state's MSME-driven trading community ahead of next year's assembly elections. A business meet is also scheduled for December 18 to facilitate interactions with industry representatives, as the usual two-day international business summit is not being held this year in view of the upcoming polls. The Byabasayi Sammelan 2025' assumes significance as the state government seeks to consolidate support from all quarters, including small businesses, in the run-up to the 2026 assembly elections. The Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations (CWBTA) president Sushil Poddar said the event, where Banerjee will be the chief guest, would provide a platform for the CM to connect with thousands of small traders, who form the backbone of Bengal's supply chain. Traders create livelihood opportunities for more than one crore peopl
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that her government will provide a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of 39 people who, she claimed, have died in the state due to "SIR-induced panic", including cases of suicide. Thirteen others who fell ill during the SIR exercise including three booth-level officers (BLOs) allegedly burdened by "excessive workload" would also be given Rs 1 lakh each, she said. The chief minister, citing government assessments, said the rollout of SIR on November 4 has triggered widespread fear and distress among sections of the public. "Till now, 39 ordinary citizens, including four BLOs, have died due to the SIR panic, including suicides. Their families will be provided financial assistance," she said after a review of the state's 14-year development record at the state secretariat Nabanna. Banerjee added that 13 others were currently under treatment after collapsing or falling critically ill during ...