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 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.
West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday announced a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for 325 people, who were jailed while protesting in the Emergency in 1975. Adhikari also announced free travel on government buses and free medical assistance at government hospitals for the “Loktantara Senani’.
In several parts of West Bengal, police have asked mosques committees to remove rooftop loudspeakers and replace them with sound box to ensure noise pollution rules.
Availability of land to set up industries appears to be a stumbling block in the path of West Bengal’s first BJP-run state government. This is an issue two previous state governments have found to be insoluble.
West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Socials Bill has been passed and enacted into law It permits the state to detain individuals deemed to be a threat to public safety without trial..
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