Explore Business Standard
Associate Sponsors
Co-sponsor
West Bengal Assembly Polls
Representatives of various political parties in West Bengal met the full bench of the Election Commission on Monday, and several of them sought a maximum of two-phase polling for the upcoming assembly elections, a senior official said. Representatives of the TMC, BJP, CPI(M), Congress, AAP, NPP and Forward Bloc, among others, met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who was accompanied by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal at a hotel in New Town near Kolkata. "A wide range of issues concerning the conduct of elections in the state were discussed. Several parties suggested that the elections be held in one or two phases and assured their cooperation in ensuring that the polls remain peaceful," the EC official said. The parties urged the EC to take stringent measures to curb the activities of anti-social elements and prevent intimidation of voters during the elections, he said. "They emphasised the need for strong ...
The Supreme Court agreed to consider on Tuesday a fresh plea filed by some persons whose names have been deleted from the electoral rolls by the Election Commission during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submissions of senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy that the plea pertained to deletion of erstwhile voters from the rolls. "These are electors. They had voted earlier and now their documents have not been taken," the senior lawyer said. "But in the scheme of things, we cannot sit on appeal over the decisions of the judicial officers," the CJI observed. When the senior lawyer said the appeals are maintainable, the bench said it will hear on Tuesday. On February 24, the top court allowed the deployment of West Bengal civil judges, in addition to 250 district judges, and the requisitioning of judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha to handle 80 lakh claims and object
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday asserted that change is inevitable in West Bengal after the upcoming assembly elections, maintaining that the BJP will form the government, bringing an end to the 15-year uninterrupted rule of the Trinamool Congress. Lambasting the TMC, he said those who had won the trust of the people of West Bengal some years ago have now launched a vicious attack on the state's pride. "Change is inevitable this election," he said, maintaining that a BJP government will ensure unprecedented development in West Bengal. "We have to save West Bengal's pride, it is in peril," Vaishnaw said while addressing a Poriborton Yatra rally at Shrirampur in Hooghly district. Stating that the people of West Bengal have seen governments run by the communists, the Congress and the TMC, he urged the people of the state "to give a chance to the BJP". Alleging that the ruling Trinamool Congress indulges in vote-bank politics, the minister said, "Question is arising in t
Ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will start a sit-in here on Friday to protest against the alleged arbitrary deletions in the post-SIR electoral rolls in the state. The protest comes just two days before the proposed visit of the full bench of the Election Commission to the state. The sit-in, scheduled from 2 pm at the Esplanade Metro Channel in central Kolkata, was announced by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday. He had accused the Election Commission of carrying out a "politically motivated" exercise that could disenfranchise lakhs of legitimate voters months ahead of the assembly elections. The protest marks a dramatic political escalation by the ruling party just days after the Election Commission published the post-SIR electoral rolls, which have significantly redrawn the contours of the state's electorate. According to official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the elector
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday slammed the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal over the law and order situation, and alleged that it was sheltering infiltrators. The BJP leader also accused the TMC of preparing fake Aadhaar and voter cards for infiltrators and attempting to change the region's demography. "Mamata Banerjee should be ashamed. Though Bengal has a female CM, cases of rape and torture of women continue," Chouchan said while addressing a 'Poriborton Yatra' rally here in North 24 Parganas district. "TMC is trying to change the demography of this region by giving shelter to infiltrators," Chouhan said. On border security, he claimed that the TMC government is not providing land for fencing along the Bangladesh border, as it would stop infiltrators from entering India. Chouhan promised action against all those crimes if the BJP comes to power in the state.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday sharpened the BJP's pitch on infiltration, declaring that while "only names of infiltrators are being deleted now" from voter rolls, they would be "pushed out of the state" once the party comes to power with a full majority in West Bengal. Addressing the BJP's Poriborton Yatra here in South 24 Parganas district, his first visit to the state since the publication of the revised electoral rolls on Saturday, Shah said the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had turned Bengal into a "swarg (heaven) for infiltrators" and alleged that the border state's security was compromised because the ruling dispensation allowed illegal immigration. "Bengal is a bordering state. The TMC cannot ensure security because they allow infiltration. Only the BJP can provide security to a bordering state like Bengal," he said. His remarks come against the backdrop of the post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls published on Saturday, which recorded 63.66 lakh deletion
The BJP will launch 'Paribartan Yatra' across West Bengal on Sunday in a bid to sharpen anti-incumbency against the TMC and test its grassroots machinery ahead of the assembly polls this year. The programme will kick off a day after the publication of the revised electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. During the SIR process, around 63.66 lakh names, nearly 8.3 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted from the state voter list since the exercise began in November last year, reducing the elector base to over 7.04 crore. The 5,000-km outreach initiative is designed as both a mass-contact exercise and an organisational stress test aimed at converting booth-level groundwork into visible street mobilisation, a party leader said. Nine yatras will originate from Cooch Behar, Krishnanagar, Kulti, Garbeta, Raidighi, Islampur, Hasan, Sandeshkhali and Amta, traversing every assembly constituency before culminating in a Brigade Parade Ground rally
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday exuded confidence that the BJP will win the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal, and "drive out every single infiltrator" from the state, which was among the ones "worst affected by demographic change". Shah made the remark in Araria district of Bihar, where he launched projects worth Rs 175 crore of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and dedicated to the nation a couple of new border outposts. "It is the top priority of the BJP government to drive out every single infiltrator from the country, who are not just a threat to national security, but also feed on welfare benefits meant for people, thereby diluting the impact schemes run by the government could make," he said. "Infiltration on a large scale also results in encroachments in bordering areas. We are committed to demolishing these. Infiltration also poses the threat of demographic change, which can wreak havoc with the culture, and even geography, of a region," Shah said. The Narendra
As many as 480 companies of Central Armed Police Forces will be initially deployed in poll-bound West Bengal for area domination, confidence-building measures and other election-related duties from March 1, an EC official said on Saturday. They will also guard EVMs at strong rooms and counting centres during the election process. The assembly elections in the state are due in a few months. The official said that the first batch of around 240 companies will be inducted by March 1, while an equal number of companies will join them by March 10. The contingents will include personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Sashastra Seema Bal. The final electoral roll after the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is scheduled to be published on February 28, while the election schedule is expected to be announced in March.
A high-level meeting on the SIR exercise began at the Calcutta High Court on Saturday afternoon, in accordance with the SC's directives, officials said. The meeting, presided over by HC Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, aims to establish a framework for judicial oversight as mandated by the apex court, they said. The meeting follows the Supreme Court's direction that the remaining stages of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls must now be conducted under the supervision of judicial officers and former judges. Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal were among the officers attending the meeting. The CEO said the meeting would allow all stakeholders to present their "points of view" to resolve existing complexities and receive specific directions on the way forward. Dismayed over the ongoing tussle between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission, the Supreme Court on Friday issued an "extraordinary" direction to .
The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to February 18 the hearing on a plea moved by the ED alleging obstruction by the West Bengal government, including by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in its search operation at the I-PAC office and the premises of its director in connection with an alleged coal pilferage scam. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sandeep Mehta deferred the matter after it was informed that senior advocate Kapil Sibal was unwell. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed to the adjournment. The top court on January 15 said the West Bengal chief minister's alleged "obstruction" in ED's probe is "very serious" and agreed to examine if a state's law-enforcing agencies can interfere with any central agency's probe into any serious offence as it stayed FIRs against the agency's officials who raided political consultancy I-PAC on January 8. The top court, while staying the FIRs filed in West Bengal against ED officials, also directed the state police to protect
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, accusing it of "providing shelter to infiltrators", institutionalising corruption and deliberately obstructing border security measures for electoral gains. Addressing a BJP workers' meeting at Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas, Shah also asserted that the TMC government was "certain to go" in the upcoming assembly elections. He said formation of a BJP government in West Bengal was crucial not just for the state, but for national security as well. "The way infiltration is taking place in West Bengal, it has become a security issue for the entire country. Even after court orders, the TMC government is not giving land to the BSF for border fencing because infiltrators are its vote bank," Shah alleged. He claimed that the administration and police in the state were not stopping illegal migrants, who were being sent across the country using fake documents. Referring to the
Terming the Election Commission's celebration of National Voters' Day as a "tragic farce", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused the poll panel of bulldozing the opposition and destroying the foundation of the country's democracy on "behalf of the BJP". Banerjee alleged that the commission was working as "His Master's Voice" and was busy "snatching away" people's voting rights. "On behalf of BJP, their Master, they are busy in bulldozing the opposition and destroying the foundation of Indian democracy, and yet they have the guts to celebrate Voters' Day!!" Banerjee wrote on X. The chief minister has been accusing the EC of holding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal in undue haste. "Election Commission of India is celebrating National Voters' Day today, and what a tragic farce that is! The Commission -- working as His Master's Voice-- is busy now in snatching away people's voting rights, and they have the temerity to celebra
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
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 ...
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a series of meetings with party leaders in Kolkata on Tuesday, with barely a few months left for the assembly elections in West Bengal. Shah reached the city on Monday on a three-day visit. He is scheduled to hold back-to-back closed-door meetings with the BJP's MLAs and MPs, besides representatives in various civic bodies, a leader said. He is also expected to meet the top brass of the RSS in the state. He is also scheduled to address a press conference during the day. After his arrival on Monday, Shah held a meeting at the BJP office in Salt Lake to take stock of the party's organisational preparedness for the upcoming polls. His visit is focused on setting the BJP's tone and tenor for the upcoming elections, party leaders said.