The BJP’s sweep of three Assembly seats within the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) area in the Darjeeling hills, coupled with the saffron party’s victory in Bengal, has raised fresh questions over the future of GTA and its impact on ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe BJP’s primary mission of winning Bengal has been accomplished with a landslide victory on Monday. The next question now is: who will be the chief minister?Although there has been no official announcement so far, at least four names ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphJhal muri — Bengal’s favourite street snack made of puffed rice — and Rabindra Sangeet became the twin themes of celebration at the state BJP headquarters on Monday as the party cruised towards a landslide victory in the state.Jhal ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphHindsight is always 20:20, as the saying goes. And in that perfect vision, the BJP’s sweep of the Assembly election in Bengal does not come as a surprise. Here are five factors that may have contributed to the stunning ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphTwo voters at saffron-drenched 6 Muralidhar Sen Lane in Kolkata, the old headquarters of the BJP in Bengal, on Monday evening typified the BJP’s sweep of the 2026 Assembly election.“I have always been with the ruling party,” Bikram Poddar, ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphCheers of a “new dawn” reverberated through industry bodies and trade associations in Bengal on Monday as the BJP seemed set to sweep the Bengal Assembly election.Bengal Inc expressed hope that the new government would focus on industrialisation, infrastructure ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe expanded municipal fringes of Kolkata that were once upon a time strongholds of the CPM tilted towards the BJP, the Assembly election votes counting on Monday showed, signalling a shift in longstanding voting patterns.The saffron party was leading ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphSecurity around outgoing Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat in south Kolkata was beefed up on Monday afternoon following a directive of the Election Commission after a group of people reached near the place and raised "Jai ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphKhela shesh – the game is over. That’s what the BJP’s Bengal unit posted on X (formerly Twitter) even as Bengal’s outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged Trinamool candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe BJP maintained a strong lead in Bengal on Monday, surging past the halfway mark of 148 before noon as counting of votes showed ding-dong battles in many seats including the marquee showdown between Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphRallies celebrating the victory of candidates will not be allowed anywhere in Bengal on Monday, a senior official of the chief electoral officer's (CEO) office said and the Kolkata police also put out a notification.The EC official also told ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe government was unseated from Nabanna. However, whether the towering Howrah building is also the seat of the new government in Bengal remains to be seen.Following the BJP sweep, speculation was rife that the administrative headquarters would be shifted ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe Election Commission barred victory rallies on Monday, permitting them from Tuesday, subject to prior approval from respective local police stations.All police stations across the state were asked to remain alert against post-poll violence.The city police issued a notification ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphAs her lead crossed 5,000, Ratna Debnath pulled her aanchal with her right hand and wiped her eyes.“Eta anyay-er biruddhhey nyay-er vote (It’s a verdict for justice against injustice),” Ratna said, putting her glasses back over glistening eyes. “This ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe towering Sujit Bose was brought down decisively.More than 6-feet tall, Bose had not lost an election since 2009 — a “tall” Trinamool leader in more ways than one.On Monday night, however, he was defeated by a wide margin ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphMamata Banerjee left the counting centre at Sakhawat Memorial school at 7.30pm. She alleged she had been kicked inside the premises.By 9.30pm, the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari had won the Bhabanipur seat by over 15,000 votes after 20 rounds of ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe BJP’s sweep across Bengal was rooted in the consolidation of Hindu votes — but it also reflected deep public revulsion with fifteen years of Trinamool Congress rule.Whether it was more a vote against Mamata Banerjee than a vote ...
5 May 2026 TelegraphThe BJP will form the next government in Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, on Monday asserted as early trends showed his party nearing the halfway mark and even crossing it on some TV channels. ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphTwo occupants of an auto-rickshaw died and four others were critically injured when the vehicle collided head-on with an SUV on NH17 near Cooch Behar town on Sunday morning.The accident took place around 7.45am at Rajarhat-Kalitala, around 8km from ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued notices to 14 Trinamool Congress leaders and workers in Malda, including poll agents, asking them to appear for questioning on Sunday, the eve of counting of votes for the Bengal Assembly elections.Of the ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphMamata Banerjee on Sunday told her party’s counting machinery for the 267-booth Bhabanipur Assembly seat that a 200-plus seat count for Trinamool Congress was a given, and that they should not leave their posts till a victory certificate was ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphFresh incidents of post-poll violence surfaced at Noapara in North 24-Parganas and Canning in South 24-Parganas on Saturday night, posing a challenge for the Election Commission’s heightened security measures before Monday’s counting.In Noapara, BJP leader Kundan Singh narrowly escaped ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphA day before the Bengal Assembly election results, the BJP on Sunday instructed the party’s district units not to indulge in violence against rival workers or leaders if it comes to power.Samik Bhattacharya, the BJP state president, said every ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphResidents of Hashimnagar under the Falta Assembly constituency erupted in celebrations late on Saturday night after the Election Commission countermanded its poll held on April 29 and ordered a repoll for the seat on May 21.A sense of euphoria ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphWait-and-watch — that seems to be the mantra for sweet shop owners across the city.Sweets or mishti are an integral part of victory celebrations for political parties in every election. A mix of saffron-coloured sweets, including laddoos and barfis, ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe newly appointed officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station was removed on Sunday, less than 24 hours after being posted there.Inspector Chameli Mukherjee, who was posted as the officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station on Saturday, was removed by Kolkata Police ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphMany persons with disabilities cast their votes on Wednesday, fulfilling their “duty” as citizens and asserting their “right” to participate in the electoral process.Some were well aware of the task ahead, while others needed guidance from their parents and ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe waterlogging along Amherst Street last week was not just the result of heavy rainfall but was also caused by underground sewer lines in the neighbourhood currently being replaced, which blocked the natural flow of rainwater, sources in the ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphVotes cast in 17 Assembly seats in and around the city will be counted at nine counting centres on Monday, with strong rooms turned into fortresses and the administration imposing curbs in the surrounding areas. Counting will begin at ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphColoured powder (abir) was in brisk demand in the city on the eve of the Bengal election results.Some traders went so far as to compare the demand with that during Holi.Orange seems to be the most preferred choice, at ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphTrinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with her party's counting agents for the Bhabanipur constituency, from where she is seeking a re-election, on Sunday evening, hours before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly election ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphTrinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday challenged the “Bangla Birodhi Gujarati gang” to contest the Falta Assembly constituency, following the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to order fresh polling. He posted on X saying, “Ten lifetimes won't ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphA day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe OC of Kalighat police station has been changed again. Chameli Mukherjee, OC of Ultadanga Women Police Station was appointed to the post on Saturday, replacing Gautam Das. Within 24 hours, that directive was revoked and this time, Balai ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF) based in Siliguri is all set to host its fifth annual butterfly watching camp at Raimatang in the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Alipurduar district from May 7 to 10.Animesh Bose, the ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe BJP has decided to depute around 12,000 trained counting agents to firmly remain in their posts till the counting process ends and the final outcome is announced from their respective constituencies on May 4.The move has been taken ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphAn outfit representing Matuas in north Bengal has come out with a slew of demands for the new government, including the post of a deputy chief minister and a separate development board for the community in the region.“We have ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe Election Commission’s assertion of free, fair and peaceful elections in Bengal has come under question after widespread allegations of intimidation and violence from several pockets of the Falta Assembly constituency in South 24-Parganas.A large number of voters in ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphMamata Banerjee on Saturday reassured Trinamool Congress’s counting agents that the party was all set to form its fourth consecutive government in Bengal with over 200 seats and asked them not to allow even the slightest laxity on Monday ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe state forest department has initiated a proposal to declare Panchpokhri, a hilly wetland in Kurseong, a sanctuary for salamanders.The frequent sightings and a healthy population of the rare Himalayan amphibians in the area prompted the move. The proposal ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphA team from the Nature and Trekkers’ Club of Jalpaiguri is gearing up for an ambitious expedition to scale the remote and formidable Chau Chau Kang Nilda (CCKN) peak, located in the Kaza region of Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti district.Standing ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphRising above financial hardship and personal adversity, Rupayan Chanda, a Class XII student of the science stream from Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district, has secured an outstanding 99.0019 per cent in the joint entrance examination (JEE mains).Given his challenging background, ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphManoj Kumar, the assistant high commissioner of India posted at Rajshahi in Bangladesh, paid a brief visit to the Changrabandha land port in Cooch Behar on Saturday.The diplomat reached the zero point of the border by road from Bangladesh ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphPolitics has turned family ties into a full-blown contest of nerves. Sisters-in-law Soma Thakur and Madhuparna Thakur, belonging to the influential Thakur family of Thakurnagar in North 24-Parganas, have found themselves carrying the flags of rival parties in a ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphBinata Biswas, a Matua homemaker in her late 50s from Asan Nagar in Nadia, slowly shook her head when asked who she would vote for during a conversation before the April 29 vote.“I am no longer a voter,” she ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe Election Commission on Saturday night ordered a fresh election in the Falta Assembly constituency in South 24-Parganas on May 21 after cancelling the polling conducted on April 29 following complaints of irregularities. "The EC cancelled the elections for ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphWhen the results of the Bengal Assembly elections are declared on Monday, the numbers will do more than determine who governs Nabanna, the state secretariat. They will send a signal about the broader political trajectory of India as it ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe Election Commission on Saturday ordered repoll in all 285 polling booths of the Falta Assembly constituency in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on May 21, an official said.The repoll was ordered due to "severe electoral offences and ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe counting centre at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Bhabanipur assembly constituency witnessed a ruckus a day ahead of the counting of votes, with TMC workers alleging two cars bearing the BJP's flag were allowed entry to the ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphTwo weather systems are driving the ongoing spell of rain across Bengal.Both systems — an east-west trough and a cyclonic circulation — remain active, and thunderstorms are likely over the next few days, the Met office said.In south Bengal, ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphWhile Bengal waits for the election results on Monday, many in pockets of the Sundarbans are hoping to return safely from the forests after fishing, catching crabs or collecting honey.Several fishermen who cast their votes on Wednesday said elections ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphTwo senior local Trinamool leaders are taking turns to ensure round-the-clock vigil at Sakhawat Memorial school, where the electoral fates of Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur are sealed.Sources said Trinamool has organised such vigils outside several strongrooms ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphCommercial LPG prices have risen by over ₹1,300 per cylinder in the past 62 days, scalding millions and sharply increasing pressure on businesses and consumers.Concerns are now mounting over what may follow after the election results are announced on ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphThe officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station, which has chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence on Harish Chatterjee Street under its jurisdiction, was removed from his post on Saturday, within a week of taking charge.Goutam Das was transferred after a complaint ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphA man seen thumping the bonnet of a vehicle outside Sakhawat Memorial school on Thursday night, protesting chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s presence at the strongroom centre, has been identified not as a disgruntled city voter but as a man ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphCircumstances may have tried to hold them back, but determination proved stronger for two ICSE achievers whose results reflect years of effort.Among the many toppers this year, Metro spoke to two students whose marks are a testament to their ...
4 May 2026 TelegraphRepolling in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district concluded at 6 pm on Saturday, with around 87 per cent turnout recorded an hour before the close of voting, an official said.A voter ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphTrinamool national secretary general Abhishek Banerjee will be monitoring the counting process for the 31 Assembly seats in South 24-Parganas district on May 4, the day of counting of votes for the Bengal Assembly.Former state director general of police ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphFormer law minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday said that a state government employee at each table for the counting of votes for the West Bengal Assembly polls is absolutely necessary to ensure a level playing field.Sibal, a senior advocate, ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphDemanding safety after counting of votes, hundreds of villagers staged a protest in Falta in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, alleging they were receiving life threats from TMC workers in the area.The protesters, many of them ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphThe Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kalighat police station, Gautam Das, has been suspended following a controversy over a photograph he allegedly posted on social media, with Chameli Mukhopadhyay appointed as his replacement.The action was taken by Kolkata Police headquarters after ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphThe word rigging has returned to national headlines courtesy the intense spotlight on the Assembly election battle between the ruling Trinamool and challenger BJP, but it has been part of Bengal’s vote for years. So much so that it’s ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphThe Bengal horticulture department is anticipating a significant surge in the export of Malda mangoes this year, following a positive review from international buyers regarding last year’s produce.According to sources in the state horticulture and food processing department, a ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphTourism stakeholders in the Dooars and adjoining hill regions have reported financial losses this year, attributing the downturn to the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll and the subsequent Assembly polls.Ganesh Sau, a lodge owner at Chilapata ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphSuvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition, on Friday said his rival in the Bhabanipur Assembly seat and chief minister Mamata Banerjee couldn’t “resort to any dishonest means” during her late-night visit to the EVM strongroom at Sakhawat Memorial ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphThe day of the Assembly poll results could see Calcutta and neighbouring districts lashed by rain, the Met office has said.Two successive thunderstorms struck the city on Wednesday and Thursday, each bringing heavy rainfall.“The upper air cyclonic circulation over ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphThe steep rise in commercial LPG prices is expected to deal a severe blow to restaurants, eateries and other businesses that depend on the fuel for daily operations.The Centre announced a nearly ₹1,000 hike in the price of commercial ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphSujit Bose, the Trinamool candidate from the Bidhannagar Assembly seat, was questioned by Enforcement Directorate officers on Friday, two days after the polls.Sources in the ED said the officers wanted to question Bose, the fire and emergency services minister, ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphSecurity across strongroom centres was tightened following an alleged breach at Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra on Thursday evening, triggering a political confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.Soon after the incident was reported, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand issued ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphAfter receiving inputs about possible violent demonstrations, the Kolkata Police on Friday decided to impose prohibitory orders for 60 days from May 3 in parts of the city’s central business district, an official order said.The order was issued ahead ...
2 May 2026 TelegraphThe Trinamool Congress approached the Supreme Court on Friday, challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order, which rejected the party’s plea against the Election Commission’s directive to deploy only central government and PSU employees for vote counting in the Assembly ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphSeveral incidents of alleged post-poll violence were reported from different districts of West Bengal, even as tension continued in parts of the state following the assembly elections, a senior police officer said on Friday.Incidents of violence were reported from ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphSenior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of resorting to 'dramabazi' (theatrics) in front of a counting centre here the previous night.Talking to reporters at the BJP election office in Bhabanipur, Adhikari ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe Election Commission on Friday ordered repolling on May 2 in 15 polling stations in West Bengal, where voting was held on April 29 in the second phase of the assembly elections.In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphFormer Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly has said “Mamata didi”, “Modiji” and even Bengal’s presiding deity Maa Durga cannot predict the result of the 2026 Bengal Assembly elections during an interaction with local reporters.“How can I answer such ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphBengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Friday said that there is no scope for wrongdoing at the counting centres where round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of strong rooms was in place, his assertion coming a day after the Trinamool ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphWest Bengal Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday for questioning in the alleged civic body recruitment scam, in compliance with a Calcutta High Court directive.Bose, accompanied by his son Samudra and two ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphSecurity has been stepped up across counting centres in Kolkata and other districts ahead of the May 4 vote count, with forces maintaining a strict vigil around facilities where EVMs are stored, an official said on Friday.At Sakhawat Memorial ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphA herd of elephants rampaged through maize fields at Milanpally in Jalpaiguri district after they strayed out of the neighbouring Baikunthapur forest on Thursday, According to sources, around 40 elephants, including calves, entered Milanpally near Gajoldoba in Rajganj block ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphA major portion of a bamboo bridge over the Torsa collapsed on Thursday morning because of gushing water following heavy rainfall, severing direct connectivity between Sutkabari and Cooch Behar town.The river, flowing along the western edge of Cooch Behar ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThree persons in the Canning (Paschim) Assembly constituency did not cast their votes after marking their presence at a booth on Wednesday, as they purportedly did not want to earn the wrath of the ruling party, officials in the ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe Trinamool Congress-led civic board of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) promised to protect the rights and extend civic benefits to all “genuine voters”, including those whose names were deleted during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe first batch of bamboo poles for the pandal may only arrive at the BC Block ground in mid-May, but the beat of the dhak has already echoed across this corner of Sector I on Poila Baisakh.On the first ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphFor nearly a decade, fear lurked across a culvert that divided Ujjwalpalli village from the polling booth in Bhagwanpur, in Nadia's Joyghata under the Krishnaganj Assembly seat.On Wednesday, around 500 voters crossed the culvert, an invisible barrier that kept ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphIt rained intermittently all day. Some EVMs malfunctioned and there were long delays. Many voters don’t even live in the city anymore. But on April 29, they overcame all obstacles and cast their votes.With voter turnout touching 84.06 per ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphBarkha Subba from Darjeeling has won the Whitley Awards, commonly known as the “Green Oscars”, for her conservation work on the Himalayan salamander.Subba, a scientific adviser to the Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection (FOSEP), a Darjeeling-based NGO, has ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphIn the backdrop of reports of post-poll violence following the second phase of voting in West Bengal, Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Thursday directed officials to adopt a "zero tolerance" approach and ensure immediate action against those ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe Calcutta High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea challenging the Election Commission's directive to deploy central government and PSU employees for vote counting in the West Bengal Assembly elections.Polling for the 294-member Assembly was held in two phases ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe call came on a quiet Sunday, carrying news that felt impossible to process — Raghu Rai was no more. In New Town, Sounak Banerjee did not pause to think. He dropped everything and left for Delhi, determined to ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe Election Commission of India’s decision to bring booths to the doorsteps of voters has resulted in three housing complexes in New Town getting the chance to vote on homeground. The Telegraph Salt Lake visited the Action Area III ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe first time Barun Chanda met Satyajit Ray, he was taking his interview on behalf of a newspaper. But his dictaphone refused to work, and Chanda was too embarrassed to ask the great filmmaker for paper and pen. “So ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphA BJP polling agent allegedly entered Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra on Thursday evening, where eight strongrooms are located, triggering allegations that electoral protocol was breached as representatives of other parties were absent at the time.Trinamool Congress leaders Shashi Panja and ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe city police have announced a host of traffic restrictions and diversions between 5am and 10pm around the strongroom centres for Monday, when the boxes containing EVMs will be opened for counting:Vehicular traffic on the following roads may ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphThe absence of senior officers at the monthly session of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Thursday triggered a sharp reaction from chairperson Mala Roy. Roy said as long as the mayor was in the house attending the session, the ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphIn a state where a gun that kills from up close is available for ₹4,000 and a “9mm pistol” that can kill from a distance costs no more than an entry-level smart phone, election authorities have reason to be ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphMany are hailing the 2026 Bengal elections as violence-free, with some even crediting the Election Commission as the player of the match.But others are questioning that narrative altogether.An election in which around 3 million residents were denied their right ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphNot many years ago, a 100% was a rare sight that drew awe. In the ISC 2026 results announced on Thursday, however, Calcutta alone produced six students with perfect scores. One more topper is from Siliguri.The city toppers come ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphAn IIT Kharagpur student who fails to secure an internship from a company will be offered one by the institute, along with a stipend, in an attempt to prevent distress caused by being left without opportunities.The institute is also ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphYour ballot is locked up in boxes and sealed inside strongrooms in seven locations in and around Calcutta, waiting to be counted on Monday, May 4.Each centre is guarded by a heavy deployment of central paramilitary forces and police, ...
1 May 2026 TelegraphBengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday late evening rushed to a strongroom in Kolkata where EVMs are stored after her party colleagues alleged suspicious activity.Bengal minister Sashi Panja and Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, both candidates ...
30 April 2026 Telegraph