High polling percentage proof change of guard imminent in West Bengal: J P Nadda

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BJP national president J P Nadda on Wednesday asserted that the high percentage of polling in the first phase is proof enough of a change of guard in West Bengal, as people have lost faith in the “corrupt” TMC regime. Nadda also lauded the Election Commission for conducting “peaceful elections” in spite of “TMC goons” … Read more

Mamata Banerjee: Journey of Bengal’s daughter to nation’s Didi

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Striving to prove that “Bangla nijer meyekei chaye” (Bengal wants its own daughter), she continues her stride in the political spectrum of the nation that began in 1975 making the headlines by dancing on the car of the most influential leaders of that time Jayaprakash Narayan as a mark of protest. Forty-six years have passed … Read more

Nearly 80% polling in West Bengal, 77% in Assam in Phase 1

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As many as 79.79 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of polling in 30 Assembly seats in West Bengal on Saturday, while the turnout was a little over 77 per cent in Assam where 47 seats went to the polls in the first phase, as per the data released by the … Read more

Mission Bengal: Kolkata, the city where centuries and cultures intersect, is the epicentre of an epic fight

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Joyanti Sen, an 82-year-old women’s rights activist in south Kolkata, remembers what she calls the last five “dreadful years” of the Left Front rule in West Bengal. “If the first five years were their best, the last five were a total disaster,” she says about the Left reign that lasted from 1977 to 2011, adding … Read more

TMC manifesto matters, because Mamata Banerjee’s has proved credibility: Derek O’ Brien

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Trinamool Congress’ poll manifesto is a development-centric promise that matters because West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has the credibility to deliver promises, TMC MP Derek O’ Brien has said. “We challenge them to debate with any of our ministers on the health, education sector, social sectors. When a promise is being made, it matters who … Read more

View: Job quotas for locals make disastrous economic and federal sense

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‘Bengal wants its daughter only’ (Bangla nijer meykei chay) is the latest Trinamool Congress (TMC) election jingle being pumped into phones in the state. It’s certainly straight out of the central government’s ‘Vocal for Local’ toolkit. Pitted against the ‘India-Made Foreign Leader’ charms of Narendra Modi is Mamata Banerjee’s ‘Make in Bengal’ appeal. But for … Read more

Would not like to be put in dock for alleged proximity to any political entity: EC to Mamata Banerjee

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In a stern letter to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, the Election Commission on Tuesday said it would not like to keep on being put in the dock for alleged proximity to any political entity. Despite meeting representatives of the TMC in Kolkata and the national capital in the recent … Read more

Mamata Banerjee participates in TMC’s march on wheelchair

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Four days after she was injured and hospitalised during an election campaign in Nandigram, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee Sunday attended her first public event, as she led a roadshow in Kolkata in a wheelchair. Accompanied by senior TMC leaders, Banerjee was seen greeting the crowd with folded hands, with security personnel pushing her wheelchair. Banerjee … Read more

State of the state polls: What is at stake in the forthcoming elections?

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When West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee left the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata on a wheel chair on March 12, her left leg heavily bandaged, it seemed to give a twist to the party’s Khela Hobe (The Game is On) slogan. A bruising electoral match will now be played in injury … Read more

EC to take call on reports on Mamata Banerjee incident on Sunday: Sources

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The Election Commission will take a call on Sunday on the reports submitted by the West Bengal chief secretary and two special poll observers on the injuries sustained by Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, sources said. Banerjee fell down and sustained injuries on her left leg and waist after she was allegedly … Read more