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The TMC sought the immediate removal of the returning officer for the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in West Bengal, alleging he has proximity with BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari. In a representation submitted to Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Friday, the ruling party raised objections to the appointment of RO for the Bhabanipur seat in southern Kolkata. The party alleged that the returning officer has a "documented and close association" with Adhikari, who is contesting from Bhabanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Adhikari is also in the electoral fray from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. According to the complaint, the RO had earlier served as block development officer in Nandigram-II, where his proximity to Adhikari was allegedly visible in public engagements. The TMC claimed that such an association creates a "reasonable apprehension of bias" and "compromises the neutrality" required for conducting elections. The party also questioned the R
Twenty months after the rape and murder of a young doctor inside Kolkata's state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered nationwide outrage, the politics of that crime has caught up with Bengal's election battlefield. In Panihati, a constituency that for nearly six decades changed hands only between the Left and the Congress and later TMC, the April 29 contest is no longer just another election. In this north Kolkata suburb, now regarded as a safe TMC seat, voters are being asked less about local grievances and more about a question that has haunted Bengal since August 2024: "Who failed the RG Kar victim, and who can still deliver justice?" With the BJP fielding the victim doctor's mother, the TMC defending a fortress built over three decades, and the CPI(M) trying to reclaim a protest movement it helped lead, Panihati has become the constituency where Bengal's most emotionally charged issue is headed for its fiercest political test. The BJP has fielded the victim doctor'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will participate in BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's nomination filing from the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in the city and accompany him during a roadshow in the area on Thursday, party leaders said. Shah will join Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, in a show of strength in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's political bastion. According to BJP leaders, Shah and Adhikari will begin a roadshow from Hazra Crossing around noon. The party's state president Samik Bhattacharya will also accompany them. The roadshow will pass through different parts of Bhabanipur before ending at the Survey Building, where Adhikari will file his nomination papers. Party sources said the convoy will stop around 200 metres before the Survey Building, and Shah will walk with Adhikari to the office where the BJP leader will submit his papers. BJP leaders said Shah's participation in the nomination filing was intended to underline the importance t
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the poll panel's actions under the SIR exercise risk disenfranchisement of genuine voters in Bengal. In her three-page letter, she also alleged that the actions of the Election Commission were undermining the democratic and fundamental rights of the people. "The decisions being taken by the Election Commission of India appear to be undermining the democratic and fundamental rights of the people," Banerjee said. She said, "This is not the standard expected of a constitutional authority." Banerjee urged the commission to ensure "free and fair elections" and uphold constitutional principles. The elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the BJP was trying to include illegal voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the electoral rolls of the state to turn the poll outcome in favour of the saffron party. Addressing an election rally in Paschim Medunipur's Chandrakona, Banerjee also reiterated her plea before the gathering to ignore who the TMC candidates in the state's assembly segments were and consider her as the candidate in all 294 seats. "I was informed by Abhishek (Banerjee) yesterday that he had to rush to the EC office in Kolkata from the middle of his campaign schedule upon receiving information that about 30,000 forms were submitted in a single day to include fresh voters," the TMC supremo said. "The BJP is trying to include illegal voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the electoral rolls of Bengal. They are planning to transport outstation voters by means of railways, as they did in Bihar," she ...
The BJP on Tuesday announced the names of 13 more candidates for the West Bengal assembly polls, including Soma Thakur from Bagda seat. According to the list, Shyamal Hati will contest from Howrah Dakshin, Girija Shankar Roy from Natabari and Ashutosh Barma from Sitai. Uttam Kumar Banik will enter the fray from Magrahat Purba, Debangshu Panda from Falta, Debashish Dhar from Sonarpur Uttar and Ranjan Kumar Paul from Panchla. Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
In the calculus of West Bengal's electoral politics, Bhabanipur has emerged as the X factor. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pitted in a pitched battle with the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in her long-held bastion, making it the state's most closely watched Assembly seat. While the Trinamool Congress is looking to retain its stronghold in south Kolkata with organisational strength and emotion, the BJP wants to breach the keep by banking on social arithmetic and symbolism. The fight is reminiscent of the electoral clash between Banerjee and Adhikari in the 2021 Assembly polls, when the chief minister had taken on her protege-turned-rival, who had then just joined the BJP, in the latter's home turf, Nandigram. Banerjee had lost the fight, although the BJP had been drubbed by the TMC five years ago. She later won the Bhabanipur Assembly bypolls. The turf has changed, and it remains to be seen if the result does too. Mamata Banerjee's party is banking on the "'ghorer meye' (girl next doo
The Trinamool Congress slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday with a counter to his "chargesheet" against the Mamata Banerjee government, accusing the BJP of trying to polarise the people of poll-bound West Bengal and evade accountability for its own record on a host of issues, including women's safety. Hours after Shah's press conference here, the incumbent TMC questioned the BJP-led Centre over the prolonged violence in Manipur, women's safety in BJP-ruled states and the Centre's handling of illegal immigration. Senior TMC leaders Mahua Moitra, Bratya Basu and Kirti Azad held a joint press conference where the trio targeted the Union home minister over his criticism of the TMC government on women's safety. "Amit Shah is talking about women's security. What is the condition of women's safety in BJP-ruled states?" "Shah should first answer about violence in Manipur, which has bled continuously for the past three years," TMC MP Moitra said. The counter-charges came after
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday sharpened the BJP's campaign pitch for the West Bengal Assembly polls by publishing a 'charge sheet' against the TMC government and framing the election as a battle not merely for the state, but for the country's security. Launching a broadside at the ruling TMC in Kolkata, Shah alleged that during its 15-year rule, the state had become the country's "principal corridor for infiltration, appeasement politics and border insecurity". "The Bengal election is important not only for the state but for the entire country. The security of the country is, in a way, linked to the Bengal election," Shah said. Arguing that infiltration routes through Assam had been "shut" after the BJP came to power there, Shah claimed West Bengal was now "the only remaining route" for infiltration. "West Bengal is the only state from where infiltrators are entering the country and creating disturbances," he said. The BJP leader repeatedly linked the issue to what he
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday asserted that the BJP will lose power in the country in its attempt to destroy West Bengal. Addressing a poll rally in Raniganj, she announced that after winning the West Bengal assembly elections for the fourth consecutive time, she would bring all political parties along to "capture" Delhi. "If the BJP comes to power in the state, they will use bulldozers and throw everyone out," Banerjee claimed. "By attempting to destroy Bengal, the BJP will lose power across the country," the chief minister asserted at the rally in the mining town of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accusing the Election Commission of working at the behest of the saffron party to delete voters' names in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Banerjee said, "There must be a Lakshman Rekha, but the BJP is crossing all limits." "SIR will be your death knell," she warned the BJP. Referring to clashes during the Ram Navami procession in Murshidaba
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP, the Centre and the Election Commission, accusing them of misusing Constitutional institutions to undermine democracy. Addressing an election rally in North Bengal's Maynaguri, she alleged the BJP-led Centre and the Election Commission were "snatching voting rights" and warned the next step could be attempts to snatch away citizenship by imposing NRC. Banerjee also alleged that certain communities were being excluded from the poll processes through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. "Rajbanshis names have been removed through SIR. Women's names are also being removed. If deaths occur because of SIR, who will take responsibility?" she posed. The Trinamool Congress supremo said, "The EC, BJP and the Centre are not following the Constitution and are trying to snatch away voting rights. Today, they are snatching away voting rights; tomorrow, they will snatch away citizenship
West Bengal's 2026 assembly election is shaping up not only as a high-stakes battle between the ruling TMC and the BJP but also as a dramatic stage for political comebacks, with several leaders seeking redemption after years of defeats, scandals, exile or organisational marginalisation. In a state that still celebrates Sourav Ganguly's return to the Indian cricket team in 2006 after being dropped, as a symbol of resilience, the political arena too seems to be witnessing a season of second innings of leaders across parties. From sidelined party veterans and leaders scarred by corruption probes to those returning to electoral politics after decades, the poll battlefield is dotted with figures seeking relevance once again. For the BJP, the return of Dilip Ghosh to the electoral fray from Kharagpur Sadar, where his electoral career began in 2016, symbolises the most visible attempt at political resurgence. A former RSS pracharak known for his blunt rhetoric and grassroots style, Ghosh
A man died after allegedly getting trapped in a lift at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in north Kolkata on Friday, sparking a political storm ahead of the Assembly elections, with the opposition BJP alleging negligence and demanding a murder probe. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari termed the death "murder" and held Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also heads the health department, along with Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam and hospital authorities, responsible. "I have documents with me... they intentionally killed (the man) using a lift that was being repaired. A case of murder should be immediately registered," Adhikari told reporters while campaigning in Purba Medinipur. According to the victim's family, the man, in his early 40s, got stuck inside the elevator when it suddenly malfunctioned. They alleged that the lift was under maintenance, had no operator on duty, and was not properly secured. A senior hospital official said the man was ..
The Election Commission (EC) has sought a detailed report from the Kolkata Police on the alleged attack on senior Trinamool Congress leader and state minister Shashi Panja's residence here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally last week, a senior official said. The initial report submitted by the city police was found to be incomplete, lacking crucial details about the incident. "The earlier report did not contain a full account of the sequence of events and key inputs. A comprehensive report has now been sought," an EC official said on Wednesday. The commission has asked for clarity on the timeline of the incident, the role of the police, and the intelligence inputs available prior to the incident in north Kolkata's Girish Park area, he said. Questions were also being raised over the utilisation of central forces deployed in the state. "It is being examined why, despite the presence of central forces, they were not actively engaged, and why the local police handled the ..
Betting on calibrated generational change and organisational loyalty rather than star power, the ruling TMC on Tuesday unveiled candidates for 291 of the 294 West Bengal assembly seats, signalling a strategy of controlled churn as it seeks a fourth straight term in office. The Mamata Banerjee-Suvendu Adhikari rivalry is set to acquire a fresh electoral theatre in Bhabanipur, where the chief minister will defend her seat even as the BJP has fielded the leader of opposition from the constituency. The stage is set for a direct face-off between the two rivals who first clashed in Nandigram in the 2021 assembly polls, when Adhikari defeated his former mentor by a narrow margin despite the TMC's sweeping victory across the state. Announcing the list from her Kalighat residence, Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said the party would leave the three Darjeeling hills seats to ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) led by Anit Thapa and expressed confidence of crossing .
The TMC on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of building a "false narrative" about employment and the overall situation in West Bengal during his Brigade Parade Ground rally, alleging that he was acting as a BJP campaigner rather than the PM. TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh told a press conference that while Modi claimed to have sanctioned thousands of crores for the state's development, the Centre had actually withheld around Rs 2 lakh crore of dues to the state. "Modiji has claimed he has sanctioned Rs 18,000 crore to Bengal as a 'lollipop'. But in reality, he has blocked Rs 2 lakh-crore dues to the state for various projects, from the 100 days' work scheme to housing for the poor and drinking water supply," she alleged. "While Modi has failed to attend Parliament and address MPs for days, he is attending BJP meetings and coming regularly to the state before elections. He is behaving more as a BJP campaigner than the PM of the country," she claimed. Ghosh also rejected Modi's ..
Clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters in central Kolkata on Saturday, barely half an hour before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at the Brigade Parade Ground, leaving a police officer and a leader of the saffron party injured, officials said. Amid the violence, allegations also surfaced that stones were thrown towards the residence of West Bengal minister Shashi Panja in Girish Park area. The violence took place around 5 km from the rally venue as BJP supporters were marching towards the Brigade Parade Ground to attend the prime minister's meeting, which marks the culmination of the party's statewide 'Parivartan Yatra' ahead of the Assembly elections. According to eyewitnesses, supporters of both parties allegedly hurled stones at each other and raised slogans, triggering tension in the area. BJP leaders alleged that their supporters were attacked without provocation while heading towards the rally venue. "Stones were thrown at us without any provocation. Abuses we