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.
Kantha Kathan, a six-day exhibition celebrating the living tradition and entrepreneurial evolution of rural Bengal’s Kantha artists, opened at Kolkata’s Lalit Kala Akademi on September 11. Featuring 16 women artisans from Nanoor and Ausgram, the event combines curated retail with design talks and hands-on workshops.
A hundred days into Suvendu Adhikari’s tenure as West Bengal Chief Minister, the BJP government displays an ambitious industrial agenda alongside worrying governance instincts. As cultural confrontations and early extortion charges surface, the administration faces a critical test of economic delivery ahead of crucial civic elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is set to lead a ‘Saffron Samman Yatra’ from Golpark to Jadavpur University on September 9. This comes after a recent ‘Vande Mataram’ programme held at the politically charged campus on Rakhi Purnima.
The centenary of Bengali cinema icon Uttam Kumar has become more than a celebration of his contribution to films. It has also turned into a political moment, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) using the actor’s enduring popularity to strengthen its cultural connection with West Bengal. Uttam Kumar, popularly known as the “Mahanayak”, remains one of the most respected figures in Bengali culture, nearly five decades after his death.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday launched ‘Arjun Vahini’, a force aimed at ensuring a rapid response to natural and infrastructure-related disasters in vulnerable areas across the state.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee was summoned by the Kolkata Police in connection with a clash that broke out during the removal of an alleged illegal billboard from the party’s office on Camac Street. The development has sparked a fresh political controversy in West Bengal, with the TMC leader alleging political vendetta after being questioned by the police.
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