At a first glance, a war of words seems to be raging between Trinamool Congress and BJP leaderships in West Bengal in the run up to the 2026 Assembly elections in the state. But a second glance, longer and more searching at the two poll bound political outfits reveals the TMC leadership to be more focussed while the state saffron unit is yet to fix its priorities.
Predominance of caste system has been stated to be the bane of Bihar, but it’s forthcoming election is witnessing regional allies of BJP and Congress getting a lion’s share of seats lest the caste equation go awry. Keenly aware of the deciding role of caste in voting behaviour, the leadership of both the national level parties have left the constituencies reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates to the regional allies.
Responding to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s remarks that the National Education Policy 2020 and the PM SHRI initiative had been brought in by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to “brainwash children according to their own ideology”, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday (October 30, 2025) referred to this as a “glaring display of ignorance and political opportunism”.
The Opposition Mahagathbandhan on Tuesday released its manifesto for the Bihar Assembly polls, promising a government job to one member of every family, restoration of the old pension scheme, 200 units of free power to each household, lift ban on toddy and a monthly allowance of Rs.2,500 under Mai Bahin Yojna for women. The NDA alliance termed the manifesto a “bundle of lies”.
Never losing an opportunity of describing itself as “a party with a difference”, BJP leadership in Bihar has travelled the same path as the political outfits it seeks to distance itself from after it fielded Maithili Thakur at Alinagar seat. Thus it has set aside the claims of veterans by opting for Thakur, a singer, whose voice is one of the most recognisable in the digital age.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the second phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a process meant to verify and update voter lists by adding new voters and deleting ineligible ones.
The principal rival fronts in Bihar have finally announced incumbent Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav as their respective chief ministerial candidates after weeks of speculation and haggling. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), around the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janata Dal (United) axis, and the Mahagatbandhan, or Grand Alliance, around the Indian National Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) axis, are caught in their internal games of one-upmanship.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing “surprise and shock” at the Centre’s unilateral appointment of an interlocutor for the “issues relating to Gurkhas in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars regions of West Bengal”.
The Kerala government has officially enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme of the Central government after almost two years of opposition to the scheme alignment with the National Education Policy ( NEP 2020 ).
After flocking in droves to a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union home minister Amit Shah and making a beeline for the podium, it seems the good times are over for these BJP leaders of West Bengal. No longer can they afford to be conspicuous by their absence at the house of a slain party activist or a vandalised saffron camp unit, post a directive from BJP’s central observer for West Bengal, Bhupendra Yadav.
