Bengal
The Election Commission of India has frozen the Trinamool Congress name and ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol for the October 6 bypolls, assigning separate interim designations to factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy. Amid an urgent Supreme Court challenge by the party supremo, an emerging Congress-Mamata alignment has prompted the resignation of Trinamool’s Nandigram nominee.
The upcoming October 6 by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar have turned into a crucial referendum on Bengal’s political ground reality. While the BJP seeks to consolidate its hold, the contest between Mamata Banerjee’s loyalists and Ritabrata Banerjee’s dissident bloc will decide who commands actual public support as the state’s true opposition voice.
The fight for control of the Trinamool Congress reached the Election Commission of India on Thursday as rival camps led by Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim to the party name and symbol. With high-profile by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar scheduled for October 6, the ECI’s imminent verdict will determine which faction enters the fray as the authentic TMC.
Around 17 lakh applications for the Annapurna Yojana have been rejected after verification because of Aadhaar-related problems, the government said on Monday. The rejection comes just before the third installment of the direct cash transfer scheme for women is distributed.
The West Bengal Assembly, on Wednesday, passed two delimitation bills related to the state’s municipal corporations. The first is the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the second is the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The bills were introduced during a special one-day Assembly session.
The government has raised the monthly health-related allowance available to former Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to ₹10,000, providing greater financial support for their medical needs. The move is expected to benefit former legislators, particularly those facing increasing healthcare expenses after retirement.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission (EC) to provide details of the cases decided and pending before appellate tribunals dealing with appeals against the deletion of names from West Bengal’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday, August 10, 2026 welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision allowing party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to travel abroad for medical treatment.
A political confrontation erupted in Halisahar, North 24 Parganas, after former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s vehicle was allegedly surrounded by protesters during her visit to the area on Sunday.
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