Bengal
Confronting an existential crisis under the ruling BJP in West Bengal, Left parties are set to contest the upcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections as a unified bloc, bringing non-Left Front allies like SUCI(C) and CPI(ML) Liberation on board. Driven by a delimitation exercise that expanded KMC wards from 144 to 209 and recent clashes over Left book stalls, the CPI(M) has set aside its historical ‘big brother’ approach to share seats and build a wider resistance against the saffron camp.
The West Bengal government has officially notified a policy granting Group D government jobs to the next of kin of people killed in political violence from 2001 onwards. Announced by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Garbeta and formally notified by Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal on November 1, the scheme extends compassionate appointments to spouses, children (including third-gender), or siblings of unmarried victims whose family income does not exceed ₹50,000 a month, with applications to be screened by district magistrate and police committees.
A catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in upper Bhutan has triggered red alerts across North Bengal, prompting the emergency evacuation of over 10,000 people in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts. With the Sankosh and Mo Chhu rivers receiving millions of cubic meters of sudden discharge, the West Bengal administration has deployed NDRF and SDRF rescue squads, opened relief camps in school buildings, and initiated widespread public warnings to prevent loss of life across vulnerable tea garden belts.
The West Bengal government will terminate extended Durga Puja holidays for state-run hospital staff starting in 2027, replacing the conventional festive break with mandatory duty rosters to maintain uninterrupted emergency medical services. Announcing the decision following reports of unauthorized doctor absenteeism during the recent festive period, State Health Minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay emphasized that the health sector operates as a round-the-clock emergency service that cannot shut down during festivals.
Three Christian families in Patlapur village in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district were subjected to a three-day ordeal of mob violence, sexual assault threats, and forced Hindu rituals at a local Durga Puja pandal by individuals reportedly affiliated with the Bajrang Dal. The Chandrakona police have lodged an FIR against 13 named accused on charges including attempt to murder and outraging a woman’s modesty, placing a security watch outside the victims’ homes as civil rights bodies raise alarms over the lack of arrests.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that 64 of the 80 MLAs elected on Trinamool Congress tickets would back the ruling BJP in a floor test, taking the government’s effective strength to 275 in the 294-member Assembly. The claim triggered sharp backlash from Mamata Banerjee loyalists, who labeled the rebel Democratic Trinamool Congress faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee as ‘BJP agents’, while the CPI(M) called for judicial intervention to challenge the rebel leader’s recognition as Leader of the Opposition.
The West Bengal government on Wednesday overhauled security protocols for Durga idol immersions across Kolkata and the districts, deploying the NDRF and instituting strict crowd curbs following the tragic Chorbagan pandal stampede that killed 19 people. Reviewing riverfront preparedness on Vijaya Dashami, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari mandated identity verification for idol bearers at Hooghly ghats, asserting that scriptural and religious purity must be upheld as police tighten movement across central and north Kolkata.
Simmering resentment has surfaced within the West Bengal BJP following the nomination of former Trinamool Congress MP and actor Koel Mallick for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-election. Accompanied by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and state president Samik Bhattacharya during her filing, Mallick’s swift induction has faced fierce pushback from party old-timers who label her a political opportunist, even as the state leadership justifies the choice on the grounds of legislative realpolitik and Upper House strength.
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya in Barrackpore commemorated the 157th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi with the 27th Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Oration, delivered by noted cultural commentator Prof. Samik Bandyopadhyay. Presided over by Managing Committee President Dr. Shankarkumar Sanyal, the commemorative assembly featured the release of the expanded historical volume ‘Gandhi Parikrama’ and philanthropic contributions supporting the museum’s vocational self-reliance initiatives.
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