West Bengal Assembly Polls

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

Mamata Banerjee vows to drive BJP out of Bengal first, then Delhi

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday vowed to drive the BJP out of the state first and then from Delhi, while alleging that the Election Commission is running the administration despite an elected government. "It is my promise, I will drive out the BJP first from Bengal and then from Delhi," the firebrand TMC leader said. Addressing an election rally here, she condemned Wednesday's gherao and attack on seven judicial officers in Malda, saying the central agencies, either the CBI or the NIA, will now take action on the Supreme Court's orders. "One should not indulge in such activities before elections. The whole state has been disgraced because of this incident," Banerjee said, adding she favours peace and takes along people of all communities. She accused the poll body of acting at the BJP's behest, alleging development work in the state has stalled. "The EC has doomed Bengal at the behest of the BJP; development work has stopped in the state," Banerjee, who has

West Bengal Assembly election 2026: Can Mamata Banerjee's TMC hold off BJP?

The 2026 West Bengal election is shaping up as a sharply polarised contest between the TMC and the BJP, with the Left Front and Congress largely confined to pockets

Shortcut to 'change' lies through Bhabanipur: Shah's challenge to Mamata

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday turned BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's nomination filing from Bhabanipur into a high-voltage political spectacle, claiming he had a "shortcut" to bring about "paribartan" (change) in West Bengal: defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her own constituency. Shah said while the BJP would otherwise have to win 170 seats to form the government, a victory for Adhikari in Bhabanipur alone would automatically bring change to the state's politics. Addressing a rally ahead of a massive roadshow from Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata before accompanying Adhikari for his nomination filing, Shah framed the Bhabanipur contest not merely as another assembly seat battle but as the symbolic centrepiece of the BJP's campaign to unseat the Trinamool Congress government in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. "Change will happen in West Bengal. But should there be a change in Bhabanipur or not?" Shah asked the crowd. "With folded hands, I appeal to the .

West Bengal's existence at stake due to infiltration, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday alleged that infiltration has increased to such an extent that Bengal's existence is at stake. Addressing an election rally here, he also accused the Mamata Banerjee regime of reducing West Bengal to a state of lawlessness when incidents of firing and bombing take place almost every day. "A storm is raging everywhere in Bengal; a storm for Poriborton (change) and say goodbye to Mamata Banerjee," Shah said. "There is corruption everywhere. There is syndicate raj everywhere. Time to usher in Sonar Bangla (golden Bengal) as dreamt by Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore, Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay and others," he said, urging the people to vote for the BJP candidates. Shah addressed the rally before participating in the filing of nomination papers for the party's Bhabanipur candidate Suvendu Adhikari.

WB polls: Shah to join Suvendu Adhikari's nomination filing in Bhabanipur

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will participate in BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's nomination filing from the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in the city and accompany him during a roadshow in the area on Thursday, party leaders said. Shah will join Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, in a show of strength in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's political bastion. According to BJP leaders, Shah and Adhikari will begin a roadshow from Hazra Crossing around noon. The party's state president Samik Bhattacharya will also accompany them. The roadshow will pass through different parts of Bhabanipur before ending at the Survey Building, where Adhikari will file his nomination papers. Party sources said the convoy will stop around 200 metres before the Survey Building, and Shah will walk with Adhikari to the office where the BJP leader will submit his papers. BJP leaders said Shah's participation in the nomination filing was intended to underline the importance t

'Time to make Bharat a superpower': Leander Paes after joining BJP

Leander Paes, who still holds the crown as India's most successful tennis player, previously made his political debut by joining the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Goa in 2021

Cash, liquor, narcotics worth over ₹274 cr seized in Bengal ahead of polls

Police have seized cash, liquor, narcotics and other items worth over Rs 274 crore in West Bengal, as part of intensified enforcement measures ahead of the assembly elections, officials said on Wednesday. The cumulative value of seizures since February 26 stands at Rs 274.12 crore, reflecting heightened vigilance across the state, a statement issued by the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said. "Cumulative seizures of cash, liquor, narcotics, precious metals, and other freebies have been executed to curb illegal inducements/misuse of money power in elections," it said. The seizures include cash worth Rs 6.56 crore, liquor valued at Rs 43.37 crore, and drugs and narcotics amounting to Rs 58.13 crore. In addition, precious metals worth Rs 25.46 crore and freebies valued at Rs 140.58 crore have also been confiscated, it said. As part of broader security measures, authorities have also seized illegal arms and explosives, with 151 weapons recovered, the release .

EC actions risk disenfranchisement of voters in Bengal: Mamata to CEC

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the poll panel's actions under the SIR exercise risk disenfranchisement of genuine voters in Bengal. In her three-page letter, she also alleged that the actions of the Election Commission were undermining the democratic and fundamental rights of the people. "The decisions being taken by the Election Commission of India appear to be undermining the democratic and fundamental rights of the people," Banerjee said. She said, "This is not the standard expected of a constitutional authority." Banerjee urged the commission to ensure "free and fair elections" and uphold constitutional principles. The elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.

Tennis legend Leander Paes joins BJP ahead of West Bengal elections

Olympic medallist Leander Paes joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls. However, it remains unclear whether he will contest in the upcoming elections

BJP trying to add illegal voters in Bengal electoral rolls, says Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the BJP was trying to include illegal voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the electoral rolls of the state to turn the poll outcome in favour of the saffron party. Addressing an election rally in Paschim Medunipur's Chandrakona, Banerjee also reiterated her plea before the gathering to ignore who the TMC candidates in the state's assembly segments were and consider her as the candidate in all 294 seats. "I was informed by Abhishek (Banerjee) yesterday that he had to rush to the EC office in Kolkata from the middle of his campaign schedule upon receiving information that about 30,000 forms were submitted in a single day to include fresh voters," the TMC supremo said. "The BJP is trying to include illegal voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the electoral rolls of Bengal. They are planning to transport outstation voters by means of railways, as they did in Bihar," she ...

Bengali migrants rush home over voter list fears ahead of West Bengal polls

Earlier on March 24, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee resumed her criticism over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process

Development vs discord: Battle for key north Bengal seats heats up

Siliguri and Dabgram-Fulbari, two constituencies in north Bengal, have turned into battlegrounds ahead of the assembly elections, where narratives of development, identity, and law and order are colliding head-on. As the assembly polls dates, April 23 and 29, are approaching, the political mercury in this strategic gateway to the Northeast is rising fast, with every party digging in for a fierce fight. While the TMC is trying to snatch back ground lost to the BJP, a task made tougher by the saffron surge in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP widened its lead significantly over the Mamata Banerjee-led party. The BJP has fielded its winning faces, Sankar Ghosh in Siliguri and Sikha Chatterjee in Dabgram-Fulbari, banking on continuity and a campaign that targets alleged governance lapses. The TMC, on the other hand, has reshuffled its deck, moving Siliguri Mayor Gautam Deb from Dabgram-Fulbari to Siliguri in an effort to reclaim the urban seat. However, it is emotion and out

BJP releases list of 13 more candidates for West Bengal Assembly polls

The BJP on Tuesday announced the names of 13 more candidates for the West Bengal assembly polls, including Soma Thakur from Bagda seat. According to the list, Shyamal Hati will contest from Howrah Dakshin, Girija Shankar Roy from Natabari and Ashutosh Barma from Sitai. Uttam Kumar Banik will enter the fray from Magrahat Purba, Debangshu Panda from Falta, Debashish Dhar from Sonarpur Uttar and Ranjan Kumar Paul from Panchla. Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.

Mamata vs Suvendu: Bhabanipur contest turns into high-stakes showdown

In the calculus of West Bengal's electoral politics, Bhabanipur has emerged as the X factor. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pitted in a pitched battle with the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in her long-held bastion, making it the state's most closely watched Assembly seat. While the Trinamool Congress is looking to retain its stronghold in south Kolkata with organisational strength and emotion, the BJP wants to breach the keep by banking on social arithmetic and symbolism. The fight is reminiscent of the electoral clash between Banerjee and Adhikari in the 2021 Assembly polls, when the chief minister had taken on her protege-turned-rival, who had then just joined the BJP, in the latter's home turf, Nandigram. Banerjee had lost the fight, although the BJP had been drubbed by the TMC five years ago. She later won the Bhabanipur Assembly bypolls. The turf has changed, and it remains to be seen if the result does too. Mamata Banerjee's party is banking on the "'ghorer meye' (girl next doo

Bengal polls key to national security: Shah releases 'chargesheet' on TMC

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday sharpened the BJP's campaign pitch for the West Bengal Assembly polls by publishing a 'charge sheet' against the TMC government and framing the election as a battle not merely for the state, but for the country's security. Launching a broadside at the ruling TMC in Kolkata, Shah alleged that during its 15-year rule, the state had become the country's "principal corridor for infiltration, appeasement politics and border insecurity". "The Bengal election is important not only for the state but for the entire country. The security of the country is, in a way, linked to the Bengal election," Shah said. Arguing that infiltration routes through Assam had been "shut" after the BJP came to power there, Shah claimed West Bengal was now "the only remaining route" for infiltration. "West Bengal is the only state from where infiltrators are entering the country and creating disturbances," he said. The BJP leader repeatedly linked the issue to what he

BJP will lose power by attempting to destroy Bengal: Mamata Banerjee

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday asserted that the BJP will lose power in the country in its attempt to destroy West Bengal. Addressing a poll rally in Raniganj, she announced that after winning the West Bengal assembly elections for the fourth consecutive time, she would bring all political parties along to "capture" Delhi. "If the BJP comes to power in the state, they will use bulldozers and throw everyone out," Banerjee claimed. "By attempting to destroy Bengal, the BJP will lose power across the country," the chief minister asserted at the rally in the mining town of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accusing the Election Commission of working at the behest of the saffron party to delete voters' names in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Banerjee said, "There must be a Lakshman Rekha, but the BJP is crossing all limits." "SIR will be your death knell," she warned the BJP. Referring to clashes during the Ram Navami procession in Murshidaba

RG Kar victim's mother to contest Bengal Assembly polls on BJP ticket

Debnath described her candidature from the Panihati as a victory for the people, criticising the state government for failing to protect basic rights