Bengal Cong likely to fight civic polls, by-elections alone
Times of India | 1 July 2026
Kolkata: West Bengal Pradesh Congress is likely to contest the forthcoming municipal polls and the three by-elections alone, the party’s national general secretary (organisation), K C Venugopal, said in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Winding up his 2-day visit that focused on rebuilding Congress’s grassroots presence, reviewing the assembly poll results and discussing a political roadmap, Venugopal met Pradesh Congress netas at a meeting of the political affairs committee in Bengal.
“INDIA bloc is a common platform and we will try to protect constitutional values,” Venugopal said.
Criticising the anti-goonda bill, he said the legislation was “a warning to everyone that anybody can be taken into custody”. “UCC is also for polarisation,” he said. Venugopal also took a dig at the deletion of 27 lakh voters during SIR.
“Trinamool has become a non-entity now. Venugopal wanted the organisation to become powerful in the state,” said a Pradesh Congress neta.
Cong gen secy meets journo denied passport renewal
K C Venugopal met veteran journalist R Rajagopal on Tuesday. He mentioned how Rajagopal was denied passport renewal after his name was dropped from the electoral rolls during SIR. “I met Rajagopal at his residence, who was a former editor of a Kolkata-based newspaper. He was a voter of Bengal and was staying here, although he is basically from Kerala. I am proud of the journalist… he had written against Congress too,” he said.