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Mamata, Abhishek to brief TMC counting agents ahead of Bengal poll results

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with all counting agents of the party on Saturday afternoon, two days ahead of the counting of votes polled in the assembly elections, a senior party leader said. The meeting, scheduled for 4 pm, will be attended by the counting agents from the 291 Assembly constituencies, where the ruling party fielded its candidates. The Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) contested the remaining three seats in the Darjeeling hills. At the virtual meeting, the leaders are expected to brief the counting agents about their duties to ensure there are no lapses during the counting process on May 4. "The most important instruction to the agents would be to not leave the counting centres till the calculations are officially over and winning certificates handed over to the victors," the senior TMC leader, not wishing to be named, said. "All

No CCTV turned off, counting to be 100% neat: West Bengal CEO on TMC claim

Agarwal asserted that the poll body has 'nothing to hide', stressing that they would not allow any 'trouble' to take place in the polling procedures

TMC stages sit-in outside EVM strongroom in Kolkata alleging irregularities

Hours after party supremo Mamata Banerjee urged TMC leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil over strongrooms housing EVMs, party candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a sit-in protest at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra on Thursday, alleging irregular activities inside the facility. The protest came a day after the second phase of polling in West Bengal on Wednesday, following which EVMs were stored in strongrooms at the centre. Meanwhile, TMC sources said that the CM was also heading to the centre to take stock of the situation. Alleging procedural lapses, TMC leaders claimed party workers stationed outside the strongroom were asked to leave in the afternoon and later received information that the strongroom would be reopened at 4 pm. Speaking on the incident, Ghosh claimed, "Party workers and supporters were present outside the strongroom till 3.30 pm. Suddenly, an email was sent informing that the strongroom would be opened again at 4 pm. We contacted o

West Bengal elections 2026: BJP wants to forcefully rig elections, says CM Mamata Banerjee

BJP wants to forcefully rig elections; our workers and people ready to die, says CM Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal elections: Exit polls predict close fight between BJP, TMC

A poll of exit polls shows that TMC and BJP will be neck-and-neck in the state, as both parties are expected to win around 132-151 and 138-154 seats, respectively

Polling begins for 142 seats in final phase of West Bengal elections

Voting began on Wednesday in 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, amid unprecedented security arrangements and a high-stakes contest that could decide whether the ruling TMC retains its dominance over southern districts or the BJP can force open the gates of power in the state. Polling started at 7 am with voters lining up outside booths across Kolkata, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman - districts that together form the political and electoral core of the state. Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round shifts the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt. In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. That arithmetic explains why the BJP has treated this phase as its real test. Without breaching south Bengal, there is little route to power in the state. At the centre of the conte

West Bengal polls: Unemployment, safety, and healthcare shape voters' mood

Young voters cite gaps in employment opportunities, strained public services and governance challenges as key factors shaping their choices

West Bengal Elections 2026: 18.76% turnout recorded in the first two hours of voting | TMC | BJP

West Bengal recorded a turnout of 18.76 per cent in the first two hours of voting in the first phase of the assembly polls on Thursday, according to the Election Commission.

Bengal polls: Jute crisis, law and order key issues in North 24 Parganas

Industrial distress and precarious law and order situation in the jute hub of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal dominate the poll agenda in the cosmopolitan Noapara, Bhatpara and Barrackpore assembly constituencies, where the feud between BJP leader Arjun Singh and his associate-turned-rival TMC MP Partha Bhowmick writs large. Singh, a former BJP MP of Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, is contesting from Noapara, promising to resolve the jute crisis affecting the mills in the region. He is taking on TMC's Trinankur Bhattacharjee, who replaces veteran party leader and sitting MLA Manju Basu in Noapara. While the TMC won Barrackpore and Noapara in the previous polls, the BJP won Bhatpara in the 2019 bypoll and the 2021 elections. The BJP has renominated Arjun's son, Pawan Singh, from Bhatpara. A centre of Sanskrit learning in medieval and pre-modern Bengal, Bhatpara has now become infamous for turf wars and deadly clashes that keep the residents on tenterhooks. Bhowmick and Arjun .

Why Modi govt appointed Dinesh Trivedi, a politician, envoy in Dhaka

A profile of Dinesh Trivedi - a TMC founding member-turned-BJP man - ahead of his taking charge

How Mamata Banerjee's 15-year rule stacks up on welfare, investment

Under TMC, Bengal has seen expansion of welfare, but not big-ticket private investment

18 years since TaMo exit, Singur battles derelict land, political legacy

On the edge of Singur, one of Bengal's most politically loaded landscapes, men dig through the earth for rusted iron rods -- remnants of the abandoned Tata Motors Nano factory -- to be sold as scrap. In 2008, Tata Motors abandoned plans to set up a small-car factory here amid relentless protests. The exit has caused a seismic shift in the state's political landscape, unseating the Left Front and propelling Mamata Banerjee to power. Eighteen years on, that decision by Tata Motors still haunts Singur as it remains trapped between two ruins -- farmland that no longer yields as before and a factory that never came up. "Neither agriculture happened, nor did industry," says 93-year-old former TMC MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya, known here simply as 'Mastermoshai', which roughly translates to respected teacher. He was one of the prominent leaders during the Singur movement. In 2006, the then Left Front government acquired around 1,000 acres here for Tata Motors' small-car project. TMC supr

West Bengal assembly elections 2026: What TMC and BJP are promising voters | Manifesto

West Bengal’s politics has evolved with every election — from industrialisation and land protests to governance, welfare, and identity. In 2026, all these layers come together, with both TMC and BJP

I-T searches at TMC MLA's properties in Kolkata ahead of Bengal polls

The Income Tax Department on Friday conducted searches at two premises linked to TMC MLA Debasish Kumar, who is seeking a re-election from the Rashbehari seat in south Kolkata, officials said. Simultaneous searches began at his house on Manoharpukur Road and his election office around 6 am, they said. The reason behind the searches was not immediately known. Kumar had recently been summoned multiple times by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a land fraud case. He was called for questioning at the CGO Complex in Salt Lake on April 1, 3 and 9, and had appeared before the agency. The ED aimed to determine whether Kumar had any financial transactions with businessman Amit Gangopadhyay, whose property was recently searched by the central agency, officials said. Polling in the Rashbehari constituency will be held in the second phase of the assembly elections on April 29, with counting scheduled on May 4. The BJP has fielded columnist Swapan Dasgupta as its candidate in the

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

Mamata Banerjee alleges BJP of threatening TMC candidates for support

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

TMC backs 'tukde-tukde' gang that threatened to snap Siliguri Corridor: PM

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

TMC, BJP woo women, youth, and scheme beneficiaries with poll promises

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

BJP govt will end TMC's 'syndicate raj' in Bengal if voted to power: Shah

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.

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