PM Modi and BJP leaders step up campaign against Opposition parties after defeat of women's reservation Bill, accusing rivals of misleading voters ahead of key state polls
Rahul Gandhi alleged delimitation is an attempt to redraw India's electoral map, warns it could reduce representation of some states; govt hits back, calls remarks 'misleading'
Former Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim launches Odisha Janata Congress, positioning it as a youth-focused regional alternative amid criticism of BJP, BJD, and Congress
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
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that once the BJP assumes power in West Bengal, it will prioritise resolving the Gorkha issue in Darjeeling and withdraw all cases registered against community leaders and workers for violent agitations in the past. Shah, who was unable to reach the upper reaches of Lebong in the Darjeeling hills on account of unfavourable weather conditions, addressed the gathering through a recorded video message. "I am deeply regretful of not being able to reach you today. But I promise you that I will meet you in person at the scheduled public meeting at Sukna in Kurseong on April 21, where I will discuss in detail the development plans we have for the people of Darjeeling," he said. "For now, I will say that once we form the government in Bengal, our priority would be to resolve the Gorkha issue as quickly as possible. We will withdraw all pending police cases against Gorkha leaders and workers after we come to power in the state," he added. The
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that "logical discrepancy" under the SIR exercise is not an officially recognised term under the Election Commission framework and was selectively applied in West Bengal, unlike Bihar, to benefit the BJP. Addressing a public rally at Pingla in Paschim Medinipur district, she said she has not seen a "dirty party" like the BJP. The West Bengal chief minister, urging people to vote against the BJP, said, "The BJP has snatched everything from you... Voting against it would be your only way to take revenge." The BJP is holding rallies at places that have direct railway connectivity with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar so that they can bring in people from those states to fill up the venues, she alleged. Elections to the 294-member assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and the votes will be counted on May 4.
Bihar finds itself on the cusp of a new political epoch on Tuesday when Nitish Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, is slated to make way for the first-ever BJP-led government in the province. Kumar, who heads the JD(U) and became a Rajya Sabha MP last week, is expected to tender his resignation shortly after the last meeting of his cabinet, which is scheduled at 11 am. "It is a constitutional requirement. The chief minister informs his colleagues about his decision to dissolve the cabinet before meeting the governor," said Dilip Jaiswal, a senior BJP leader who is also a minister in the outgoing government. The BJP, which is the single largest party in the 243-strong assembly, with 89 MLAs, will thereafter elect its legislature party leader. The meeting of the legislature party is scheduled to be held at the BJP office here around 3 pm. Union minister Shivraj Singh Choudhan, whom the BJP parliamentary board has named central observer for the legislature party leader'
BJP leaders in Bihar on Monday said that the name of the party's "first chief minister" in the state will be known on Tuesday, with Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan like to arrive here to facilitate the power transition. Chouhan, whom the BJP headquarters in Delhi had on Sunday named the 'central observer' for the election of the new legislature party leader, will be visiting the state on a day when JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, the longest-serving CM of Bihar, is expected to put in his papers. Kumar, who turned 75 last month and was sworn in as a Rajya Sabha MP a week ago, is expected to visit Raj Bhavan to tender his resignation immediately after his last cabinet meeting scheduled at 11 am, where he is likely to make a formal announcement of relinquishment of the post. "Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji will be coming to Patna tomorrow and BJP legislators will be electing their leader in his presence," the party's Bihar unit president Sanjay Saraogi told reporters here. Interestingly,
Assam heads to the polls on April 9 with over 2.49 crore voters set to decide the fate of 722 candidates across 126 seats.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the BJP was threatening TMC candidates, including state ministers, seeking their support if the saffron party falls short of the majority mark after the assembly elections. She also alleged that the BJP government at the Centre wants to carry out a delimitation exercise to trifurcate West Bengal, and that parts of the state could be merged with Bihar or Odisha, and it would result in hardships for the Bengalis living in those areas. Addressing poll rallies at Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman, Chhatna and Onda in Bankura district and Khandagosh in Purba Bardhaman, Banerjee said, "The BJP is threatening TMC candidates, including state ministers, seeking their support if it falls short of the majority mark after the assembly elections." The majority mark in the West Bengal assembly is 148. The BJP won 77 seats in the 2021 polls. "The BJP is planning to bring in a delimitation bill to divide West Bengal into three parts. It
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that the "tukde-tukde" gang had threatened to snap the strategic Siliguri Corridor to cut off the Northeast from the rest of the country, and the TMC gave them support from the streets to the Parliament because of its "appeasement politics". Addressing an election rally at the Kawakhali ground in the northern West Bengal city of Siliguri, Modi said the Centre was working to develop the corridor, which serves as a gateway to the Northeast, on a massive scale. "The country has a 'tukde-tukde' gang, and it threatened to cut off the Siliguri Corridor. They wanted to separate the Northeast from the country. TMC, which indulges in appeasement politics, supports such people from the streets to Parliament. That is the real face of TMC," he alleged. Urging people to vote for a 'double engine' government, Modi said Bengal will witness development at double the speed. He alleged that the TMC has destroyed the state during its 15-year tenure, and
PM Modi said that he will interact with party 'Karyakartas' in 'Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot Samvad' on April 13 to further strengthen the party's reach from the grassroots for the elections
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address an election rally in Siliguri in poll-bound West Bengal on Sunday, a party leader said. Modi on Saturday held rallies at Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district, Jangipur in Muslim-majority Murshidabad district, and Kushmandi in Dakshin Dinajpur. On Sunday, he will address a rally at Kawakhali Ground in Siliguri in support of BJP candidate Shankar Ghosh and other party nominees in north Bengal. These programmes are aimed at consolidating the BJP's support in central and north Bengal, where the party is seeking to make deeper inroads and sharpen its challenge to the ruling TMC, the party leader said. This is Modi's third visit to the state since the Election Commission announced the poll schedule in mid-March. On Thursday, Modi had addressed rallies at Haldia, Asansol and Suri, where he sharpened the BJP's campaign pitch by highlighting issues such as "industrial decay" and the "infiltration menace" in the state. Modi had launched his
The TMC and BJP, through promises made in their respective manifestos for the West Bengal polls, have made it clear that they are fighting to woo the same bloc of voters women, youth and welfare scheme beneficiaries even as they seek to shape the contest through different pitches on identity, minorities, polarisation and nationalism. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is banking on the social coalition of women, minorities and SC-ST voters that has kept the TMC in power since 2011, the BJP is trying to upend that base through financial aid promise, highlighting Bengali pride, vows to implement the Uniform Civil Code and provide citizenship for Hindu refugees, besides its anti-infiltration rhetoric. The Left Front and Congress have also unveiled their respective manifestos. But unlike the TMC and BJP, which are battling to capture power, they appear to be fighting mainly to reclaim political relevance through promises centred on jobs, industry and anti-incumbency. Political analy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sharpened the BJP's pitch on identity and infiltration in poll-bound West Bengal, promising to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to end what he called the "politics of appeasement", while asserting that the party would not allow Bengalis to become a minority in the state. Addressing a rally at Jangipur in Muslim-majority Murshidabad district, Modi framed the upcoming assembly elections as a battle to protect West Bengal's identity and future, while accusing the ruling TMC of thriving on appeasement politics and the "support of infiltrators". "The nation's security is of paramount importance to us. The BJP's resolve is to implement UCC in West Bengal to end the politics of appeasement forever," Modi said, a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the party's manifesto promising to bring in the law within six months. Claiming that rapid demographic changes were taking place in several parts of the state, Modi alleged that the TMC
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that if the BJP is voted to power in West Bengal, it will end TMC's 'syndicate raj', and said those involved in atrocities on women of the state would be brought to justice. Addressing a BJP rally at Onda in Bankura district, Shah assured potato farmers that their produce will be sent across the country so that they get remunerative prices. "We will end the 'syndicate raj' of the TMC government after winning the Bengal assembly elections," he said. "All those involved in atrocities on women during Mamata Banerjee's rule will be brought to justice," Shah asserted. The Union home minister also stated that infiltrators will be thrown out once the BJP comes to power in Bengal. "India is not a 'dharamshala' (free guest house), and infiltrators who pose a threat to the country will be thrown out," Shah said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the BJP, with the help of the Election Commission, tried to get her candidature from Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata cancelled by attempting to file false cases against her, but the bid was foiled by TMC workers and the public. Banerjee, while addressing an election rally at Keshiyari in Paschim Medinipur district, accused the BJP of "forcefully" deleting the names of 90 lakh voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). "The BJP, with the EC's help, tried to invalidate my candidature from Bhabanipur by trying to file false cases against me, but we foiled their game plan," Banerjee, who is contesting against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari to retain her seat, said without elaborating further. She accused the BJP of "plotting to forcefully capture votes through fraudulent means as they don't have the guts to fight and win the elections democratically". "This is why they are ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sharpened the BJP's pitch on infiltration and welfare in poll-bound West Bengal and promised that the process of granting citizenship to Matua and Namasudra refugee families will speed up once the party comes to power. Addressing a rally at Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district, Modi said the BJP had brought in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to grant citizenship to refugees and accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of trying to spread fear among them. "I want to tell the Matua and Namasudra refugee families that they are under the protection of the country's Constitution. Modi enacted the CAA law so that Matua, Namasudra, and all refugees get citizenship," he said. The PM also said, "After the BJP government is formed, the process of granting citizenship under CAA will be accelerated for all eligible applicants." The remarks are significant in a state where the Matua community, spread across several districts of south Bengal, is seen as an ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address three rallies in poll-bound West Bengal on Saturday, as the BJP steps up its campaign ahead of the assembly elections. Modi will hold the rallies at Katwa in Purba Bardhaman, Jangipur in Muslim-majority Murshidabad district and Kushmandi in Dakshin Dinajpur. These programmes are aimed at consolidating the BJP's support in central and north Bengal, where the party is seeking to make deeper inroads and sharpen its challenge to the ruling TMC. This will be Modi's third visit to the state since the Election Commission announced the poll schedule in mid-March, underscoring the importance the BJP leadership attaches to West Bengal, one of the party's key electoral battlegrounds. On Thursday, Modi had addressed three rallies at Haldia, Asansol and Suri, where he sharpened the BJP's campaign pitch by foregrounding issues such as "industrial decay" and the "infiltration menace" in the state. At those meetings, the Prime Minister also off
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Uniform Civil Code will be implemented in West Bengal within six months of the BJP coming to power in the state, and the BJP will make a "son of Bengal" the chief minister. At a press conference after unveiling the BJP's Assembly poll manifesto -- 'Sankalp Patra' -- he accused the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC of practising appeasement politics, and sought to counter TMC's allegation that the BJP would interfere with the food habits of Bengalis. "The recommendation for the Uniform Civil Code is not of the BJP. It is of the Constituent Assembly," Shah said, defending the push for the uniform civil law and claimed that it remained unimplemented for decades because of "appeasement politics". "It was due to appeasement politics that the UCC was not implemented for so long. In whichever states we have formed governments, we have implemented them, and we will do it in Bengal too," he said. The BJP, in its manifesto, has promised to implement the