West Bengal

Bengal: Congress replaces 7 candidates for second phase of Assembly polls

The party has nominated Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Baharampur, Pradip Prasad from Bhabanipur, while Mausam Noor, who recently joined the Congress, will contest from Malatipur

We will move court again to resist voter deletions, says CM Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over voter deletions during the SIR exercise and said her party will move a court again to resist the removal of electors from the rolls. Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision in the state. "You will not be able to defeat the TMC by deleting names. We will move a court again to resist the exclusion of names," Banerjee said while attacking her principal challenger BJP over the roll revision exercise. Banerjee had in February argued in the Supreme Court as she sought an intervention in the SIR process. The EC figures, which pushed the total deletion to over 90.83 lakh names from the original voter base of 7.66 crore in October 2025, showed that the proportion of removal of electors now remains at over 11.85 per cent. Addressing a poll rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district

TMC writes to ECI over 'compromised' officials, raises neutrality concerns

Polling for the 294-member Assembly in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4

Bengal polls: BJP releases 6th list, fields Rakesh Singh from Kolkata Port

As per the list approved by the Central Election Committee, Rakesh Singh has been fielded from Kolkata Port

Bengal's new electoral map: SIR hits TMC bastions, jolts BJP's Matua belt

West Bengal's 2026 assembly elections will be fought on an electoral map radically redrawn by the SIR, which has wiped out over 90.83 lakh names from the rolls, upending the arithmetic in scores of constituencies and throwing both the TMC's citadels and the BJP's expansion zones into fresh uncertainty. The state's electorate has shrunk from 7.66 crore to 6.77 crore, forcing the TMC and the BJP to fight the two-phase elections later this month on terrain very different from the one on which Mamata Banerjee stormed back to power in 2021. The deepest cuts have come in the districts that have long determined who rules Bengal -- the minority-heavy belts and the southern zone that have underpinned the TMC since 2011, and the Matua-refugee pockets of North 24 Parganas, Nadia and parts of north Bengal that powered the BJP's rise after 2019. Yet the political fallout is not uniform. The TMC's once-formidable cushions in south Bengal appear thinner, while the BJP remains entrenched in north .

Nearly 9.1 mn names deleted from Bengal electoral rolls after SIR exercise

Nearly 91 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal following the Special Intensive Revision exercise in the state, according to data released by the Election Commission. The poll panel is yet to announce the finally altered voter base for the state after the roll revision process. According to official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, were deleted since the SIR process began in November last year, reducing the voter base from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore. More than 60.06 lakh electors, who were placed in the "under adjudication" category, were part of the 7.04 crore voter base. Over 27.16 lakh of 60.06 lakh 'under adjudication' voters have been deleted during a scrutiny by judicial officers, the EC data said. More than 32.68 lakh of those in the 'under adjudication' category have been retained and included in the final rolls. The final deletions, since the beginning of the SIR process,

The long reach of West Asia war: Sheffield of the East waits and watches

Furnaces cool faster than they should as Howrah's foundry belt sputters, with West Asia tensions choking fuel lines, snarling cargo routes, and stretching workdays thinner

SC flags high exclusion in Bengal voter roll revision, denies relief

Top court notes high rejection rates in SIR exercise, declines interim relief on appeals, and asks appellate tribunals to frame procedures for handling cases uniformly

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

Mamata demands PM's resignation over silence on Pak's 'Kolkata threat'

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not raise Pakistan's threat to attack Kolkata, during his poll rallies in West Bengal a day earlier. "You (PM) target Bengal during election rallies; but when Pakistan talks of attacking Bengal, you do not utter a word. You should resign," she said at a poll rally here in Nadia district. "Why did the prime minister not raise the issue during his rally in Bengal? When Pakistan's defence minister says they will attack Kolkata, why didn't the prime minister say that 'we will take strong action'?" she posed a day after Modi addressed a poll rally in West Bengal's Cooch Behar. "Just like we do not accept any threat to the country, we will also not take the threat to Kolkata lying down," she said. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday warned India that it would respond with a strike in Kolkata to any "future misadventures". "If India tries to stage any false flag operation this

PM Modi, Shah star campaigners for BJP for West Bengal Assembly polls

The list also includes BJP chief Nitin Nabin, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Dharmendra Pradhan and Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sarma

Tribunal orders Cong candidate's name to be restored in final roll in WB

Congress candidate Mohtab Sheikh, whose name was earlier put under the adjudication cases column of the final electoral roll on February 28, was a happy man Sunday evening after a tribunal ordered that his name be reinstated. A relieved Sheikh told mediapersons, "Justice has finally been delivered. My name has been cleared and restored, and I can now proceed with filing my nomination." This was apparently the first such ruling by any tribunal involving a candidate to resolve an ongoing adjudication case due to "logical discrepancy", an Election Commission (EC) official said. In the significant development, the tribunal headed by former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, T S Sivagnanam, directed that the name of the Congress nominee from Farakka in Murshidabad district be restored to the voter list. Sheikh said, "My name had been struck off during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, preventing me from filing nomination despite being officially nominated by my party.

PM Modi to launch BJP's Bengal campaign from Cooch Behar on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Cooch Behar district on Sunday to launch the BJP's campaign for the West Bengal assembly elections, a senior party leader said. Modi is scheduled to address the BJP's 'Bijoy Sankalpa Sabha' at the historic Ras Mela grounds in the afternoon, marking the start of the party's intensified outreach in north Bengal, with the aim of consolidating grassroots support in a region that has become a saffron stronghold over the years and a critical electoral battlefield. During the rally, the PM is expected to outline the party's vision for a "developed West Bengal", highlight issues raised in the BJP's recently released 'People's Chargesheet' against the ruling TMC in the state, and focus on governance, law and order, and alleged corruption. This will be Modi's first election rally in the state, following the declaration of assembly polls, and the fourth public meeting at the Ras Mela grounds, after his previous rallies at the same venue during his .

NIA investigates Malda SP, BDO offices to probe judicial officers' gherao

A major political storm had erupted in West Bengal as seven judicial officers, including three women, were held hostage by villagers in Malda district

TMC seeks removal of Bhabanipur poll official over links with BJP's Suvendu

The TMC sought the immediate removal of the returning officer for the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in West Bengal, alleging he has proximity with BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari. In a representation submitted to Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Friday, the ruling party raised objections to the appointment of RO for the Bhabanipur seat in southern Kolkata. The party alleged that the returning officer has a "documented and close association" with Adhikari, who is contesting from Bhabanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Adhikari is also in the electoral fray from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. According to the complaint, the RO had earlier served as block development officer in Nandigram-II, where his proximity to Adhikari was allegedly visible in public engagements. The TMC claimed that such an association creates a "reasonable apprehension of bias" and "compromises the neutrality" required for conducting elections. The party also questioned the R

Mamata Banerjee blames AIMIM, ISF for gherao of judicial officers in Malda

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday blamed AIMIM and ISF for the gherao of judicial officers in Malda district and accused the Congress and the BJP of instigation. Stating that the mastermind behind Wednesday's gherao of the judicial officers for several hours in Malda district's Mothabari was arrested by the state's CID, Banerjee claimed that this police organisation is still under her control and not of the Election Commission. "The BJP loaned him (the accused) from the AIMIM and brought him here," she alleged, while addressing an election rally at Harirampur in Dakshin Dinajpur district. "ISF is with them; Congress and BJP have also provided instigation," the Trinamool Congress chief alleged, stating that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the main accused, advocate Mofakkarul Islam, from Bagdogra airport when he was trying to flee. "It is they who engineered the violence in Malda's Mothabari," she said. Alleging that goons are being brought i

EC to continue deployment of 500 CAPF companies in Bengal post elections

Amid law and order concerns in poll-going West Bengal, the Election Commission on Friday decided to continue deployment of 500 companies of central forces in the state even after counting of votes on May 4. The state goes to assembly polls in two phases on May 23 and 29. "During the last assembly elections, there was post-poll violence. The decision is also based on past incidents," an official explained. One company comprises 90 to 125 personnel. Additionally, 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be retained in the state for security arrangements of electronic voting machines (EVMs), strong room and counting centres. These companies will remain deployed till the completion of counting in the state, the EC said. Separately, the poll authority had on Thursday handed over the probe into the gherao of judicial officers adjudicating cases of Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal's Malda to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). A spokesperson of the poll ..

'Mastermind' of judicial officers' gherao in Bengal arrested from Bagdogra

The West Bengal Police on Friday arrested the alleged mastermind of the gherao of seven judicial officers in Malda district from Siliguri's Bagdogra airport, a senior officer said. The accused, identified as advocate Mofakkarul Islam, was arrested while he was trying to board a flight, he said. "He is the mastermind of the Kaliachak incident in which seven judicial officers were gheraoed inside a BDO office for several hours on Wednesday night. He was trying to board a flight to flee," the officer told PTI. With the latest apprehension, the police have so far arrested 33 people, including an ISF candidate, for their alleged involvement in the incident, he added.

Bengal: EC publishes 8th supplementary list, 5.2 million cases disposed of

The EC published the eighth supplementary list and said it has disposed of around 52 lakh cases under adjudication in West Bengal, expressing hope that the process would be completed within the next few days in line with directions of the Calcutta High Court. Verification and disposal of about 52 lakh cases, which were under adjudication, have been completed till Thursday evening. Work for the remaining nearly 8 lakh applicants is in progress and is expected to be completed within the next four days, an EC official said. Officials expressed confidence that, if the current pace is maintained, the entire adjudication process will be completed by April 7. Over 60 lakh names were under scrutiny after the final draft electoral rolls were published. The adjudication is being carried out by judicial officers in compliance with the Supreme Court directions. The exercise assumes significance as the first phase of elections in the state is scheduled for April 23, while the last date for fil

SC expresses concern over intimidation of judicial officers in West Bengal

Supreme Court orders central forces and probe after judicial officers were allegedly confined during electoral roll revision in West Bengal, raising concerns over rule of law