Kolkata: Teachers of West Bengal’s Visva Bharati University have written to Vice-Chancellor Probir Kumar Ghosh over “extremely stressful” poll-related duties, seeking immediate intervention of the Election Commission.

In a letter dated April 26, several faculty members of the Central university said they were under “extreme mental and physical stress” due to continuous deployment for poll-related work across districts.

“We are constrained to draw your urgent attention,” the teachers said in the letter, noting that many of them had been assigned duties in different parts of South 24 Parganas district and asked to report by April 28 morning, barely a day after completing assignments in Birbhum.

“Some have to travel as far as Sagar Island. Given the limited transport options and very short notice, it will be extremely difficult to reach on time,” it stated.

The faculty members pointed out that even on April 26, they were attending training sessions for counting day observers, leaving them little time to rest before their next deployment.

“At this time of the year, this is extremely stressful on health. This is also severely affecting our primary responsibility – teaching,” they said. The teachers urged the Vice-Chancellor to immediately take up the issue with the poll panel. - PTI

JDU leader Rajiv Ranjan Prasad exuded confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, stating that the end of “TMC’s reign of terror is certain.”

Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, “A BJP government will be formed in West Bengal. There is no doubt about this. Throughout the election campaign, voters’ love and support towards BJP candidates has been evident... Just like in the first phase, the streak of BJP’s victories will continue in the second phase as well. The end of TMC’s reign of terror is certain.” - ANI

Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D. Raja urged voters in West Bengal not to support the BJP in the State Assembly election. He said it is important to defeat the party in the State and warned that a rise to power of the BJP would be “disastrous” not just for Bengal but for the entire country.

Mr. Raja said, “Today is the last day of election campaigning in West Bengal. I appeal to the people of Bengal not to support the BJP. It is important to defeat the BJP in Bengal. The BJP should not be allowed to capture power in Bengal. This will be disastrous not only for Bengal but for the entire country. That is our position.” - ANI

BJP leader Ramkripal Yadav stated that people of West Bengal want a change and have stopped believing in the TMC.

“TMC is Mamata Banerjee’s party. If people do not believe in the TMC, then how can they believe in Didi? People have decided there that they want change... I believe that a new government will form there under the leadership of the BJP,” he said.

Earlier, Trinamool Congress State general secretary Tanmay Ghosh claimed that ‘no outsider’, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will be seen in West Bengal from 11 a.m. on May 4.

“By 11 a.m. on 4th May, you won’t find any of these outsiders, be it the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, or CMs from various States, on the soil of Bengal... We have been saying from day one that the TMC will form the government with at least 230 to 250 seats. People’s blessings are with the TMC, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee,” he said. - ANI

Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party Bihar president Sanjay Saraogi exuded confidence in the party’s victory in West Bengal Assembly elections, basing his claims on high voter turnout in phase-1 polling, stating that people’s anger against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was visible at booths. 

Sanjay Saraogi said people are “fed up” with the Trinamool Congress and looking towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi for change. “The people of Bengal have made up their minds. The way record voting took place in the first phase of elections, the anger of the people against TMC and Mamata Banerjee was visible at the booths. In the coming times, the BJP will form the government there with a full majority,” he said. - ANI

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has requested the Election Commission to address the TMC’s complaint that a police observer in South 24 Parganas district for the Assembly polls met a BJP candidate in violation of norms.

The TMC prayed for the removal of the said officer from the role of police observer in four Assembly constituencies - Magrahat Purba, Magrahat Paschim, Diamond Harbour and Falta.

The EC stated before the court that the observer met the candidate in an official capacity at the designated conference room for meetings at a State government-owned tourist lodge in Diamond Harbour, and there was nothing confidential about it as alleged by the petitioner.

Justice Krishna Rao, after hearing the parties in the matter last week, “requested” the Election Commission of India to dispose of the complaint filed by the TMC and to communicate the order to the petitioner.

The TMC alleged in the petition that during his stay at the tourist lodge, the officer held a private and unofficial meeting with the candidate fielded by the BJP from the Magrahat Paschim Assembly constituency.

Senior advocate D.S. Naidu, representing the Election Commission, stated before the court that sub-clause 3 of Clause 3 of the Observer’s Handbook provides that for all purposes, a police observer would act as the eyes and ears of the ECI during the period of election and provide direct input to the commission.

He stated before the court that a police observer has to meet the public as well as the candidates and to submit a report to the Commission. - PTI

Union Minister Amit Shah held a massive roadshow in Behala Paschim Assembly constituency in a final push to garner support before the second phase of polling in West Bengal.

Speaking with ANI during the roadshow, Mr. Shah exuded confidence in the party’s victory, reiterating the party’s promise to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) after securing a majority in the 294-member Assembly.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party is definitely going to form the government,” he said.

“Where is the fear? We have to implement the UCC. Our agenda is that there cannot be four marriages in India. So far, no major incidents of violence have been reported. Not a single death has occurred. The elections are being held peacefully.” Mr. Shah said.

- ANI

Kolkata: Katwa in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district has emerged as a keenly watched Assembly constituency, with a direct contest likely between the TMC and the BJP as agrarian distress and youth’s aspirations drive the poll discourse in the predominantly rural seat.

Katwa, an unreserved seat, is one of the seven Assembly segments under the Bardhaman Purba Lok Sabha constituency. It has a predominantly rural character, with around 65.40% of voters residing in villages and 34.60% in urban centres. The electorate is socially mixed, with Scheduled Castes accounting for about 27.41% and Muslims around 21.80% of the population.

Historically, the constituency was considered a Left stronghold. The CPI won the seat twice, while the CPI(M) secured it six times. The Congress also had a significant presence, particularly under veteran leader Rabindranath Chatterjee, who won the seat in 1996 and went on to retain it consecutively. - PTI

Kolkata: Industrial distress and precarious law and order situation in the jute hub of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal dominate the poll agenda in the cosmopolitan Noapara, Bhatpara and Barrackpore Assembly constituencies, where the feud between BJP leader Arjun Singh and his associate-turned-rival TMC MP Partha Bhowmick writs large.

Mr. Singh, a former BJP MP of Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, is contesting from Noapara, promising to resolve the jute crisis affecting the mills in the region. He is taking on TMC’s Trinankur Bhattacharjee, who replaces veteran party leader and sitting MLA Manju Basu in Noapara.

While the TMC won Barrackpore and Noapara in the previous polls, the BJP won Bhatpara in the 2019 bypoll and the 2021 elections. The BJP has renominated Arjun’s son, Pawan Singh, from Bhatpara.

Mr. Bhowmick and Arjun Singh point accusatory fingers at each other over the never-ending violence in the region, which was once a CPI(M) bastion. - PTI

Kolkata: A sharp decline in the number of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has injected an element of uncertainty into the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency, considered a safe seat for the ruling TMC.

The electorate in the south Kolkata constituency has dropped from 2.36 lakh in the 2021 Assembly polls to around 1.75 lakh, a fall of nearly 26%, prompting political parties to closely assess its potential impact on the April 29 polling.

The TMC re-nominated senior Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who has held the seat for two consecutive terms, while the BJP fielded Rakesh Singh. The Congress nominated Aquib Gulzar, and the CPI(M) put up Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, making it a four-cornered contest.

Kolkata Port, part of the Kolkata Dakshin Parliamentary constituency, comprises dock areas, old business districts and densely populated neighbourhoods. Muslim voters form a significant segment of the electorate, alongside traders, transport workers and working-class Hindu families.

The reduction in voter numbers has prompted party workers across formations to scrutinise the revised rolls booth-wise to identify deletions and assess whether specific localities have been affected. - PTI

Kodaikanal: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin interacted with people and tourists at Kodaikanal regarding the prospects of DMK in the just concluded Assembly polls. Mr. Stalin is on a brief trip to Kodaikanal with his family after elections ended on April 23.

During his morning walk at Manoranjitha Reservoir, he posed for photographs and selfies with the public waiting along the road. “The DMK chief is also likely to meet senior party leaders to enquire about measures taken with regard to the appointment of counting agents,” party sources said. DMK sources said Stalin is expected to return to Chennai on April 29. - PTI

Jagatdal: West Bengal Police have arrested four individuals in connection with the violent clashes between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP supporters in front of the Jagatdal Police Station on Sunday night (April 26, 2026).

The arrested accused have been identified as Koushik Das, Sikander Prasad, Gopal Routh, and Shyamdev Shaw, while the police noted that the remaining accused persons are absconding.

“Following raids in a dozen locations in association with DCP Barrackpore, four people, namely Koushik Das, Sikander Prasad, Gopal Routh and Shyamdev Shaw, were arrested. The remaining accused persons have absconded. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend them, including continued raids targeting individuals, including Firoz, Munjal Rajak, and others,” police said in a statement.

According to police, last night at 11 p.m., a retired police officer and contesting candidate from Jagatdal Assembly Constituency visited the police station to lodge an FIR. The opposing candidate’s supporters came to know about his visit. Subsequently, a violent mob of about 200 persons gathered at the Jagatdal police station. The mob unlawfully entered the police station premises, creating a serious law and order situation.

In order to rescue the candidate, another candidate reached the spot, following which the mob turned more aggressive. Both individuals, with the help of their supporters, managed to leave the police station. The mob proceeded to attack the residence of another candidate, who lives there, using explosives, firearms, and stone pelting. - ANI

In West Bengal’s electoral chessboard, governments are rarely made in the hills of North Bengal or the forested region of Jangalmahal. Power is usually decided in the crowded plains of South Bengal, where elections are won less by momentum and more by mathematics.

At the heart of that battle lie North and South 24 Parganas — the twin districts which, along with Kolkata and Howrah, form the TMC’s strongest fortress and the BJP’s most crucial gateway to power.

With the BJP seeking to breach the ruling party’s southern citadel, the two biggest districts — North 24 Parganas with 33 seats and South 24 Parganas with 31- once again hold the key to Bengal’s high-voltage electoral battle.

Together with Kolkata’s 11 seats and Howrah’s 16, these four districts account for 91 of Bengal’s 294 assembly seats — nearly one-third of the House — making them the single most decisive belt in the 2026 polls.

North and South 24 Parganas remain the heart of that contest — what Bengal politicians often call the “Uttar Pradesh of Bengal’s electoral map,” the region that can make or unmake power at Nabanna, the state secretariat.

The larger Presidency division — Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas — sends 111 MLAs to the Assembly and remains the TMC’s strongest fortress.

Despite the BJP’s most aggressive push during the 2021 Assembly elections, the TMC won 96 of these 111 seats, while the BJP managed only 14 and the ISF one. The verdict reinforced an axiom: without breaking South Bengal, there is no route to power. -- PTI

Ahead of the second and the final phase of polling for the West Bengal Assembly election on April 29, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (April 26, 2026) accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of running a reign of terror in the State. 

“In West Bengal today, it is not democracy but TMC’s reign of terror that prevails. Intimidating, attacking, and eliminating opposing voices after votes are cast -this has become the defining character of TMC,” Mr. Gandhi wrote in a social media post flagging the murder of a Congress worker.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday (April 26, 2026) said the BJP will end “goonda raj” and “syndicate raj” in West Bengal if the party comes to power in the State.

Addressing a public rally at Tehatta in Nadia district, Mr. Shah also claimed that voters “wiped out” the Mamata Banerjee government in the first phase of the Assembly polls itself.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday (April 26, 2026) lodged a complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Papia Adhikari, alleging misuse of the national flag during election campaigning in the Tollygunge Assembly constituency in south Kolkata.

The complaint was filed at Netajinagar police station by Kohinoor Mazumdar, TMC spokesperson and vice-president of the West Bengal Trinamool Chhatra Parishad.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Sunday (April 26, 2026) took suo motu cognisance of a video clip allegedly showing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee using “derogatory” language against the SC community during an election rally.

The NCSC has written to the Chief Secretary of West Bengal and the Director General of Police, directing them to submit a detailed report within three days of the receipt of the notice.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal, officials said.

The move on Sunday (April 26, 2026) came following a directive by the Union Home Ministry in this regard, they said.

In pursuance to the Home Ministry’s order, the anti-terror agency on Sunday (April 26, 2026) registered a case, which was originally filed at Uttar Kashi police station, Bhangar division, Kolkata on Saturday (April 25, 2026), and took up the investigation, an NIA spokesperson said in a late night statement. -- PTI

One more writ petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking an inquiry into the assets declared by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay while filing his nomination papers for contesting from Perambur Assembly constituency in the elections held this year.

District election officials are considering increasing the number of tables at the vote-counting centre for the Paravur Assembly constituency amid concerns over a possible delay in declaring results. Paravur is among the constituencies to be keenly watched on the counting day as Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan seeks re-election from there. The counting centre for the constituency will be at UC College, Aluva.

Officials had earlier decided to set up 13 counting tables at the centre, citing space constraints inside the counting hall. Most of the other constituencies will have 14 tables, it is learnt.

Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday (April 26, 2026) joined the Trinamool Congress campaign in West Bengal, addressing three election rallies—two in Kolkata and one in Howrah.

His visit comes during the last leg of poll campaign in the State. Campaigning for the second phase of the Assembly elections will conclude at 6 p.m. on Monday (April 27). A few days ago, the AAP suffered a major setback when seven of its 10 MPs crossed over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With hours left for campaigning in the last phase of elections in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (April 26, 2026) focused on issues concerning the Matua population and assured that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will assure citizenship to the community of Hindu refugees that has migrated from Bangladesh.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee focused on her constituency in Bhabanipur where she held a road show. She raised several issues, including the deletions of under-adjudication voters from the electoral roll, and targeted the administration that has been appointed by the Election Commission of India (ECI). “Those who are arresting now must think about getting arrested in future. Sin spares no one,” she said.

A total of 24,22,097 voters, out of an electorate of 28,93,505, exercised their franchise in Chennai District this Assembly election.

According to data shared by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) with The Hindu, the overall voter turnout across the 16 constituencies is 83.71%.

The total number of votes polled increased marginally by 20,038, compared to the 2021 Assembly election, when 24,02,059 votes were polled, as per Election Commission data.

​The Election Commission of India (ECI)​ on Sunday (April 26, 2026) announced a stringent security plan for the second phase of the ​West Bengal Assembly polls​, making it clear that any attempt to disrupt voting or obstruct electors would be dealt with firmly, an official said.

The ECI directed security personnel to carry out constituency-wise deployment and step up area domination exercises in interior lanes and sensitive neighbourhoods to ensure that voters can exercise their franchise without fear.

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