Page 2 - All India Trinamool Congress

Suvendu claims 3 million women under TMC's cash transfer scheme ineligible

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said that around 30 lakh beneficiaries of 'Lakshmir Bhadar', a financial assistance scheme for women introduced by the previous TMC government, were ineligible as they were either non-Indians or their names were permanently deleted from the voter list. Adhikari introduced a form for the 'Annapurna Bhandar' scheme, as announced by the BJP government to provide Rs 3,000 per month for eligible women in the state. Addressing a press conference at the state administrative headquarters, Nabanna, Adhikari said "approximately 30 lakh beneficiaries" were receiving Lakshmir Bhandar assistance despite being ineligible as their names had been permanently deleted from the voter list, or they had not applied to a SIR-linked tribunal or for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for inclusion. He said that the CAA applicants and those who have appealed to an SIR-linked tribunal after adjudication for entry on the voter list ..

Messi tour organiser files complaint against ex-Bengal min Aroop Biswas

Lionel Messi tour organiser, Satadru Dutta, lodged a police complaint against TMC leader and former West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas and three others, including the state's former top cop, alleging they were responsible for the chaos that unfolded at the Salt Lake stadium last December and that he was made a "scapegoat" out of it. Dutta lodged the complaint at the Bidhannagar South police station on Monday evening, in which he also named former DGP and TMC Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Kumar, the minister's kin and Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor Juin Biswas and I&CA department secretary Shantanu Basu, holding them responsible for the stadium mayhem. The event organiser, who was subsequently arrested and spent 38 days in jail, sought police intervention, alleging unlawful intrusion into restricted security zones of the field, collapse of perimeter control and disruption during the high-profile programme held at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, also known as Salt ...

Suvendu Adhikari slams TMC, says voters denied rights in Diamond Harbour

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday alleged the people of Diamond Harbour have not been able to exercise their voting rights for a decade ever since the local TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee appeared on the state's political scene. Assuring people that the scenario has now changed, he said the May 21 repolling in the Falta Assembly seat, which falls under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, will re-establish voter rights. Addressing a BJP workers' rally in Falta, Adhikari announced a special development package for the Assembly constituency area, over and above the pre-poll promises made by the BJP in its manifesto. In his first political meeting since he became chief minister, Adhikari said, "The Falta repolls will re-establish voter rights where people have not been able to vote for 10 years ever since the nephew (Abhishek Banerjee) arrived on its political scene. "That scenario has now changed. I urge the voters of Falta to elect the BJP candidate by a margi

TMC names Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as LoP in West Bengal assembly

The TMC on Saturday appointed Ballygunge MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of opposition in the West Bengal assembly. In a statement, the party announced that Dhanekhali MLA Asima Patra and Chowrangee legislator Nayna Bandyopadhyay would serve as deputy leaders of the opposition. Kolkata Port MLA Firhad Hakim was appointed chief whip in the assembly. Hakim is also the mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The party said the newly appointed leaders would work "with commitment for the interest of the people of Bengal". BJP swept the assembly elections, winning 207 seats in the 294-member House and forming the government in the state for the first time. The TMC won 80 seats in the elections. Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as chief minister earlier in the day.

Mamata urges opposition parties to form 'joint platform' against BJP

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday appealed to all opposition parties in West Bengal to come together to form a "joint platform" to fight the BJP which came to power in the state after the recently held assembly elections. The former chief minister also called upon the student unions of various affiliations opposed to the BJP and the NGOs to unite against the saffron camp. "I call upon all opposition parties, including the Leftists and the ultra-Left, to come together to form a joint platform against the BJP," Banerjee said, also calling upon national parties to join. The TMC chief said that she will talk with any political party if they want to hold a dialogue with her in this regard. "It is not the time to think the enemy's enemy is my friend, our first enemy is the BJP," she said, while addressing a small gathering in front of her Kalighat residence on Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary. She claimed that atrocities were being committed against TMC worke

Abhishek questions Bengal's poll process credibility, accuses EC of bias

Questioning the credibility of the electoral process in the West Bengal assembly polls, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday accused the Election Commission of acting in a "partisan" manner and alleged large-scale irregularities during the elections won by the BJP. In his first social media post after the declaration of results, Banerjee said the TMC would continue to be a "strong, vocal and uncompromising opposition" both in West Bengal and at the Centre. "Throughout this entire process, we witnessed what we believe was deeply partisan conduct by several government agencies as well as the Election Commission of India," Banerjee said in a post on X. "Democratic institutions that are meant to function impartially appeared compromised, raising serious concerns about the fairness, credibility and transparency of the electoral process in West Bengal," the Diamond Harbour MP wrote. Stating that the TMC fought an extremely difficult election where "nearly 30 lakh genuine voter

Lost cause: Mamata Banerjee's defiance risks stoking lawlessness in Bengal

Ms Banerjee's contention is that the election has not been conducted fairly and that central forces were misused to capture booths and influence the outcome

Bengal Governor dissolves Legislative Assembly after completion of term

West Bengal Governor R N Ravi dissolved the state assembly after its term ended on May 7, formally bringing the Trinamool Congress' 15-year rule to a close

Won't resign, poll results not people's mandate but conspiracy: Mamata

Outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday ruled out stepping down after her party's defeat in the assembly polls, claiming that the verdict was not a genuine public mandate but the result of a conspiracy. Banerjee also alleged that the TMC's contest in the polls was not against the BJP, but against the Election Commission, which worked "for the BJP". "The question of my resignation does not arise, as we were defeated not by a public mandate but by a conspiracy I did not lose, I will not go to Lok Bhavan. They can take action as per constitutional norms," she told a press conference here. Banerjee alleged large-scale irregularities in the counting process, claiming that mandate in nearly 100 seats was "looted" and that counting was deliberately slowed down to demoralise her party. "A black chapter in history has been created," she asserted. The TMC chief accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of undermining people's democratic ...

Suvendu Adhikari's rise: From Mamata loyalist to defeating her twice

Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram in 2021, beat her again in Bhabanipur as the BJP ended the TMC's 15-year rule in Bengal

TMC alleges post-poll violence in West Bengal; BJP denies involvement

Incidents of arson and vandalism at offices of the Trinamool Congress were reported across West Bengal on Monday as BJP workers celebrated their landslide victory in the state. Police said TMC offices in Kolkata's Tollygunge and Kasba, in Baruipur, Kamarhati, Baranagar in the suburbs, and in Howrah and Baharampur in the districts were vandalised by mobs since Monday afternoon. An Election Commission official said strict action will be taken against those involved in the rampage and assault, and reports have been sought from the local police to initiate follow-up action. BJP Leader Rahul Sinha, however, rejected the charge that any of his party's workers were involved in vandalism, saying it might be the handiwork of rival factions within the TMC, who were letting out their frustration at party leaders following the election results. At the Bijoygarh-Netajjnagar area in Tollygunge, the election office of TMC candidate and former minister Aroop Biswas was seen vandalised by a mob. So

'Lotus blooms in West Bengal': PM Modi hails BJP's win in TMC bastion

Counting trends showed the BJP racing past the majority mark in the 294-member Assembly, signalling the end of the 15-year rule of the Trinamool Congress

'SC asked ECI to implement circular, didn't dismiss TMC plea': Kapil Sibal

In the Supreme Court, we decided not to challenge the circular, instead urged the court to implement the circular, said Kapil Sibal while addressing a press conference

From Singur to welfare: How West Bengal's poll issues evolved since 2006

From industrialisation and land protests to welfare, jobs and corruption, West Bengal's election issues have layered over two decades shaping the 2026 political contest

How TMC sting pushed AIMIM to end alliance with Humayun Kabir before polls

AIMIM withdraws from alliance with Humayun Kabir's AJUP after a TMC sting video alleged controversial remarks and plans to shift minority votes ahead of West Bengal elections

How deletion of over 9 million voters out of Bengal list is a blow to TMC

With over 9 million names removed after SIR, West Bengal's voter list has triggered a political flashpoint, raising questions over the impact on TMC's core support base

West Bengal polls: How BJP became Trinamool Congress' main challenger

As the Left and Congress declined, BJP has consolidated anti-TMC votes in the last decade, emerging as the main challenger to Mamata Banerjee and TMC

From Congress era to Left reign to TMC rule: Mapping Bengal's political arc

West Bengal's political culture has undergone a transformation across three distinct phases, marked by Congress dominance, the Left rule, and the rise of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress

WB polls: RG Kar case looms over Panihati as victim's mother enters contest

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'

TMC releases list of 17 candidates ahead of Assam Assembly elections

The Assam assembly polls will be held on April 9, and votes will be counted on May 4