West Bengal Polls 2011

It was panchayat polls in 2008 that set off alarm bells for CPM's 30 year government and the first signal that they were in serious trouble. Three years later, in 2011, Mamata Banerjee did what many thought was impossible - dislodge the Left.

For the first time since the Left Front lost the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2011, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former chief minister, hit the campaign trail in Kolkata on Tuesday amid a sea of red flags and cadres clearly rejuvenated to see him in public.

For Siliguri mayor and former minister Ashok Bhattacharya it is a fight to stage a comeback after his surprise defeat in the 2011 assembly election as he takes on former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia, who has taken the field as a Trinamool Congress nominee.

He stoutly defended the Marxist stronghold in 2011 when the Trinamool Congress ousted the Left Front. But five years down the line, CPI(M) state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra is fighting a tough battle in Narayangarh as he tries to usher in change in West Bengal.

Results will be declared today in the crucial elections to six municipalities across West Bengal, the first poll since the Trinamool ousted the Left in a landslide victory in the 2011 Assembly polls on the back of a huge anti-incumbency wave.

Poriborton (change) has come to Bengal. On Friday, minutes after 1 in the afternoon, Mamata Banerjee took oath to become the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal.It was a historic moment for the state and personally, one that the diminutive giant-slayer has waited for all her life. Mamata took oath in Bengali marking a change of guard t...

Very few politicians, and fewer still with no political background, have had such a high-profile entry into the political arena as Trinamool Congress nominee Manish Gupta. The former West Bengal Chief Secretary emerged as a giant killer in his maiden electoral battle, humbling Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Jadavpur constituency by 16,68...

There are few who will dispute that Mamata Banerjee's historic victory in West Bengal today has been scripted, chartered and delivered entirely by the woman who West Bengal refers to as "Didi" and whose call for "pariborton" or change has been fuelled by her emphasis on "ma, mati, manush" (Mother, Land, People).  In 1997, she was expell...

Friday, the 13, proved to be lucky for Trinamool Congress with the party set to assumepower in West Bengal with a landslide win 13 years after its formation. Friday, the 13th, is considered to be a day of bad luck by many.Banerjee had founded the All India Trinamool Congress in January, 1998, and within 13 years, steered it to a massive victory in ...

Election surveys by television channels on Tuesday gave a unanimous clean sweep for Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, predicting the end of the Communist rule, while they were divided on the outcome in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.Polls conducted during the polling in the states over the past month by Headlines Today-ORG, CNN-IBN-The We...

Over 84 percent voting was recorded in 14 constituencies that went to the polls on Tuesday in the sixth and last round of the West Bengal assembly elections, an Election Commission (EC) official said."The percentage is likely to increase as people are in queues at several booths," the official said. The polling started at 7 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m....

CPM leader and former MP Anil Basu has issued a handwritten statement to apologise for his comments against Mamata Banerjee. Mr Basu wrote, "At a public meeting in Hooghly, the comments I carelessly made about the Opposition leader, I shouldn't have done so at all. This is completely against the policies and culture of our party. In this conne...

Polling in the first phase of assembly elections covering six northern districts of West Bengal today saw a high turnout of 74.27 per cent with no major untoward incident reported.State Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta said the turnout was 74.27 per cent.Voting was held in 54 constituencies with 364 candidates in the fray including 11 ministers ...

The Trinamool Congress is planning to go to court against the CPM's Goutam Deb who, on Saturday, claimed that the Trinamool was using black money to fund its election campaign.Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has asked party MP Mukul Roy to file the defamation case today. Mamata had rubbished Goutam Deb's allegations and said it was the CPM that nee...

Sipping coconut water while standing outside a polling station, sitting under a ceiling fan or even using a table inside a poll booth can get banned on polling days in the West Bengal assembly elections. The reason - they are among the dozens of poll symbols being used by contestants.Other items of daily use such as candle, battery, torch, lantern,...

It was panchayat polls in 2008 that set off alarm bells for CPM's 30 year government and the first signal that they were in serious trouble. Three years later, in 2011, Mamata Banerjee did what many thought was impossible - dislodge the Left.

For the first time since the Left Front lost the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2011, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former chief minister, hit the campaign trail in Kolkata on Tuesday amid a sea of red flags and cadres clearly rejuvenated to see him in public.

For Siliguri mayor and former minister Ashok Bhattacharya it is a fight to stage a comeback after his surprise defeat in the 2011 assembly election as he takes on former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia, who has taken the field as a Trinamool Congress nominee.

He stoutly defended the Marxist stronghold in 2011 when the Trinamool Congress ousted the Left Front. But five years down the line, CPI(M) state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra is fighting a tough battle in Narayangarh as he tries to usher in change in West Bengal.

Results will be declared today in the crucial elections to six municipalities across West Bengal, the first poll since the Trinamool ousted the Left in a landslide victory in the 2011 Assembly polls on the back of a huge anti-incumbency wave.

Poriborton (change) has come to Bengal. On Friday, minutes after 1 in the afternoon, Mamata Banerjee took oath to become the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal.It was a historic moment for the state and personally, one that the diminutive giant-slayer has waited for all her life. Mamata took oath in Bengali marking a change of guard t...

Very few politicians, and fewer still with no political background, have had such a high-profile entry into the political arena as Trinamool Congress nominee Manish Gupta. The former West Bengal Chief Secretary emerged as a giant killer in his maiden electoral battle, humbling Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Jadavpur constituency by 16,68...

There are few who will dispute that Mamata Banerjee's historic victory in West Bengal today has been scripted, chartered and delivered entirely by the woman who West Bengal refers to as "Didi" and whose call for "pariborton" or change has been fuelled by her emphasis on "ma, mati, manush" (Mother, Land, People).  In 1997, she was expell...

Friday, the 13, proved to be lucky for Trinamool Congress with the party set to assumepower in West Bengal with a landslide win 13 years after its formation. Friday, the 13th, is considered to be a day of bad luck by many.Banerjee had founded the All India Trinamool Congress in January, 1998, and within 13 years, steered it to a massive victory in ...

Election surveys by television channels on Tuesday gave a unanimous clean sweep for Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, predicting the end of the Communist rule, while they were divided on the outcome in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.Polls conducted during the polling in the states over the past month by Headlines Today-ORG, CNN-IBN-The We...

Over 84 percent voting was recorded in 14 constituencies that went to the polls on Tuesday in the sixth and last round of the West Bengal assembly elections, an Election Commission (EC) official said."The percentage is likely to increase as people are in queues at several booths," the official said. The polling started at 7 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m....

CPM leader and former MP Anil Basu has issued a handwritten statement to apologise for his comments against Mamata Banerjee. Mr Basu wrote, "At a public meeting in Hooghly, the comments I carelessly made about the Opposition leader, I shouldn't have done so at all. This is completely against the policies and culture of our party. In this conne...

Polling in the first phase of assembly elections covering six northern districts of West Bengal today saw a high turnout of 74.27 per cent with no major untoward incident reported.State Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta said the turnout was 74.27 per cent.Voting was held in 54 constituencies with 364 candidates in the fray including 11 ministers ...

The Trinamool Congress is planning to go to court against the CPM's Goutam Deb who, on Saturday, claimed that the Trinamool was using black money to fund its election campaign.Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has asked party MP Mukul Roy to file the defamation case today. Mamata had rubbished Goutam Deb's allegations and said it was the CPM that nee...

Sipping coconut water while standing outside a polling station, sitting under a ceiling fan or even using a table inside a poll booth can get banned on polling days in the West Bengal assembly elections. The reason - they are among the dozens of poll symbols being used by contestants.Other items of daily use such as candle, battery, torch, lantern,...