Page 2 - All India Trinamool Congress

EC actions challenge TMC's grassroots reach, BJP's strength in West Bengal

With the Election Commission planning to add nearly 14,000 new polling booths amid prospective Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of rolls in West Bengal, the BJP faces a shortage of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), exposing a critical organisational gap that could weaken its 2026 poll challenge, while the TMC, with no such issues, exudes confidence. For the Trinamool Congress, the expansion of polling stations from the existing 80,000 to an estimated 94,000, spread across 294 assembly seats, is less a burden than an opportunity to tighten its grip at the grassroots. In contrast, the BJP functionaries acknowledge they are planning to cover only about 70 per cent of booths with BLAs during the SIR exercise, well short of what is needed to ensure an effective presence statewide. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP could deploy polling agents in around 50,000-55,000 of West Bengal's existing 80,681 booths. The target now stands at 65,000-70,000, but insiders admit the party may struggle to ge

TMC MLA caught while 'fleeing' as ED raids house over WB school job 'scam'

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches against West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha and some of his relatives as part of a probe into alleged irregularities in the hiring of teachers and staffers in schools, official sources said. The raids are being undertaken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the legislator from the Burwan Assembly segment in Murshidabad district. Some of the relatives and associates of the MLA are also being searched, the sources said. Saha was arrested by the CBI in 2023 for his alleged links to the "scam" and later released. The ED's money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the CBI, which was directed by the Calcutta High Court to carry out investigations into alleged irregularities in the hiring of group 'C' and 'D' staff, assistant teachers of Classes 9 to 12 and primary teachers. The ED had earlier arrested former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, his alleged

PM should resign if EC says there are discrepancies in electoral rolls: TMC

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet should resign and the Lok Sabha be dissolved if the Election Commission says there are discrepancies in the electoral rolls. Banerjee, who is the national general secretary of TMC and considered the number two in the Mamata Banerjee-led party, said that the "EC cannot selectively say" that the voter list is fine in some states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, but not in West Bengal, Bihar or Tamil Nadu. "If SIR (special intensive revision) of electoral rolls is conducted, it should be held across the country and the first step should be the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet and the Lok Sabha has to be dissolved," he said. The TMC leader claimed that if the present government has been elected on the basis of the same voter list, then the legitimacy of the central government is null and void. Lok Sabha polls in the country were held in mid-2024. "If

Will send BJP to detention camps post 2026 assembly polls: TMC's Abhishek

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday tore into the BJP, branding it a 'Bangla-Birodhi' party, alleging that it wants to send Bengalis to detention camps. He also claimed that after the 2026 Bengal Assembly polls, it is the BJP that will be electorally "sent to detention camps and wiped out" from the state. The BJP wants to take Bengalis to detention camps. I want to tell them clearly after the 2026 elections, it is you whom we will send to the detention camps, the TMC national general secretary said, addressing TMC's Martyrs' Day rally. Claiming that the BJP is a Bangla-Birodhi party (anti-Bengal party), Banerjee alleged that it has consistently targeted Bengalis for speaking their mother tongue. Just because we speak Bengali, we are being targeted. Why doesn't the BJP take action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his continuous attacks on the Bengali language? It shows their true colours, he asked. Banerjee said that if required, TMC MPs would speak in Benga

After Singur, a new chapter unfolds in Tata Group-West Bengal saga

A meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran has rekindled hopes of fresh investments by the group in the state that goes to polls next year

Khidderpore market fire 'act of sabotage': BJP's Suvendu Adhikari

Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday claimed the devastating fire that gutted several shops at Khidderpore market here was an act of sabotage. Adhikari also said he and other BJP MLAs will raise the issue in the assembly during the ongoing monsoon session. "People have lost their trust in the chief minister, and that is why a large posse of police personnel had to be deployed during her visit here," he said, addressing the affected shop owners at Khidderpore market. The early morning fire on Monday ripped through parts of the congested Khidderpore market in southwest Kolkata, gutting hundreds of shops and triggering panic among local traders. No casualties were reported. The senior BJP leader also wondered what the state government's monetary compensation of Rs 1 lakh would do for shop owners who lost everything in the blaze. Adhikari said he supported the demand of those affected to not be shifted to any other place as a temporary ...

Mahua Moitra confirms her marriage with ex-BJD MP Pinaki Misra in Germany

TMC MP from Krishnanagar Mahua Moitra is said to have married former MP Pinaki Misra in a quiet ceremony in Germany on June 3, though no official statement has been issued

Legal procedures followed while arresting female influencer: Kolkata Police

Kolkata Police have dismissed criticisms that they have "unlawfully" arrested a 22-year-old female Instagram influencer for allegedly uploading a video with communal comments, and claimed that all legal procedures were followed. They defended the arrest of influencer Sharmistha Panoli saying that the case was "duly investigated and adhering to legal procedures". "Kolkata Police acted lawfully according to the procedure established by law. The accused was not arrested for expressing patriotism or for personal belief; legal actions were taken for sharing offensive content which promotes hatred among the communities," Kolkata Police posted on Facebook on Sunday. "The case was duly investigated and adhering to legal procedures, several attempts were made to serve notice u/s 35 of BNSS to the accused but every time she was found absconding," the Kolkata Police stated. "Consequently a warrant of arrest was issued by the competent court, following which she was apprehended lawfully from .

TMC MP Saket Gokhale agrees to apologise in Lakshmi Puri defamation case

The Delhi High Court has put the payment of ₹50 lakh in damages that Gokhale has to pay on hold for now

'I challenge, go for elections tomorrow': Mamata hits back at PM Modi

Stating that her government stands for compassion, Banerjee accused the BJP of following divisive policies and alleged that the ruling party at the Centre incites riots

PM Modi slams Mamata govt, says Bengal suffering from 'selfish politics'

PM Modi criticised the Trinamool Congress TMC government for showing 'enmity towards poor, Dalits, Adivasis and women'

PM Modi to address rally in Bengal's Alipurduar today, launch gas project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal on Thursday to lay the foundation stone for a gas distribution project and address a rally in Alipurduar. This will be his first trip to the state after the success of 'Operation Sindoor' earlier this month and a year ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. During the visit, Modi will lay the foundation stone for an Rs 1,010-crore City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts and later address a public rally in Alipurduar, BJP leaders said. State BJP president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar told PTI that both the government events and the rally would be held in adjoining areas of the north Bengal districts. "The prime minister will first attend the government programme and then address the public meeting. In the evening, he will leave for Patna," Majumdar said. The visit comes amid heightened political activity in Bengal, with the BJP seeking to regroup ahead of the 2026 polls, and the ruling ...

TMC's Yusuf Pathan to opt out of all-party mission on anti-terror stand

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerje asserted that the leadership of a party should decide the names of its representatives for the Centre's multi-party diplomatic mission

TMC's Bandyopadhyay declines govt outreach role citing health issues

Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Saturday said he will not be able to join the government's diplomatic outreach delegations being sent to different countries after Operation Sindoor due to health reasons. The government has announced it will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the UN Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Bandyopadhyay told PTI that he received a call from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and the External Affairs Ministry, and was asked to go to the US but he informed them that he would not be able to go due to health reasons. A statement issued by the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said, "The all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They would carry forth to the world the country's stro

Court grants bail to Derek O'Brien, TMC leaders in 2024 ECI protest case

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to 10 TMC leaders, including Derek O'Brien, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, in a case registered against them for their protest in April last year in front of the Election Commission of India despite a prohibitory order being in place. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal also granted relief to TMC leaders Santanu Sen, Dola Sen, Nadimul Haque, Vivek Gupta, Arpita Ghosh, Abir Ranjan Biswas and Sudip Raha, on an application moved by their lawyer. While nine TMC leaders were physically present before the court, Vivek Gupta appeared through video conferencing. The court has granted bail to five of the leaders, who are sitting MPs, on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. The rest were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 along with a surety of like amount. While granting bail, the judge noted that the chargesheet was filed without the arrest of the accused persons. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on May ...

98% ED cases against politicians target Oppn leaders, claims TMC's Gokhale

Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale on Saturday said 98 per cent of the cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate against politicians were against opposition leaders. "The remaining two per cent are those who went and joined the BJP's 'washing machine,'" he said. Gokhale referred to Thursday's statement of ED Director Rahul Navin, to claim that the surge in cases post-2014 was at the behest of Narendra Modi, who came to power the same year. Speaking at an event on ED Day, Navin said the anti-money laundering law had been "largely ineffective" before 2014 and there has been a significant step-up in enforcement activity since then. In a post on X, Gokhale said, "Yesterday, the head of central agency ED admitted that there's been a surge of cases filed after Modi Government came to power in 2014." "In the last 11 years, a total of 5,297 cases were filed by ED. How many were taken to court for trial? Only 47," he said. The TMC Rajya Sabha MP said the conviction rate in ED cases

Pahalgam attack deepens Bengal's identity rift, sparks fresh polarisation

The return of four coffins from Kashmir to Bengal three deceased of the Pahalgam terror attack and one soldier killed in Udhampur has not only stirred grief, but also ignited a volatile mix of religion, politics and emotion deepening polarisation and marking a turning point in the state's identity politics. With the 2026 assembly elections less than a year away, the killings have swiftly taken on a political charge, threatening to become the emotional nucleus around which competing narratives and electoral strategies will revolve. The brutal killing of tourists Bitan Adhikari, Samir Guha and Manish Ranjan Mishra in Kashmir, allegedly after being asked to reveal their religion, has sent shockwaves through the state. The chilling nature of these targeted killings has thrust the politics of religious identity into the spotlight, with the faith of the victims now becoming a potent political tool. As parties scramble to frame the narrative through religion, nationalism and victimhood

West Bengal CM turns to 'universal religion' to blunt communal polarisation

Tensions have remained high following the eruption of violence in Murshidabad over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025

TMC Murshidabad unit urges MP Yusuf Pathan to visit violence-hit district

Amid criticism by the opposition over the absence of Baharampur MP Yusuf Pathan from violence-hit Murshidabad in West Bengal, the TMC local leaders on Friday said they are in touch with him over the phone and have urged him to visit the district soon. The district Trinamool Congress leadership is "unhappy" with the Baharampur MP for not visiting Murshidabad during last week's communal clashes, with a section of the unit expressing displeasure over the party's decision to field a celebrity candidate who was absent during the crisis and has perceived disconnect from grassroots workers, TMC sources said. "He is a cricketer and a celebrity. Why would he come here? We are the ones trying to manage the situation on the ground. This is the issue with nominating celebrities. He is in touch with us over the phone, and we have asked him to come to the district. But right now, he is busy with the IPL," Murshidabad MP and senior TMC leader Abu Taher Khan told PTI. Pathan, a former Indian ...

TMC's Kunal Ghosh alleges Murshidabad violence linked to some conspiracy

There's an allegation that with BSF's help, a conspiracy is underway to malign Bengal and create unrest, which the BJP and Opposition can exploit for political gains, said TMC's Kunal Ghosh