Ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched the ‘Matri Shakti Bharosa Card’, a key welfare promise aimed at women voters in the state. The initiative was unveiled in Kolkata on April 15, 2026, by senior BJP leader Smriti Irani as part of the party’s broader election campaign.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Vinesh Chandel, co-founder and director of political consultancy firm I-PAC, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the alleged West Bengal coal scam. The arrest comes just days ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, triggering political reactions.
The Supreme Court on Monday said that it cannot allow people whose appeals against exclusion from the voter list are pending to vote in the upcoming West Bengal elections.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday, April 12, 2026, detained West Bengal Assembly candidate Sayem Chowdhury and arrested Indian Secular Front (ISF) member Golam Rabbani in Malda for their alleged involvement in the violent gherao of judicial officials earlier this month. The central agency acted following a Supreme Court directive to investigate the April 1 incident in the Motabhari area, where a mob protesting the deletion of names from the electoral roll held seven judicial officers hostage for over eight hours. The suspects were apprehended after video analysis placed them at the scene of the agitation, which the apex court described as a “complete failure” of the state’s law and order machinery.
In a significant development that has sent ripples across the television industry, a prominent artist has reportedly refused to work with telesoap directors who are currently under scrutiny, stating that they will only collaborate after the directors receive an official “clean chit.”The controversy stems from a series of allegations related to professional misconduct and on-set behavior against certain directors associated with daily television soaps. Although no formal verdict has been announced yet, the issue has raised serious concerns about workplace ethics and safety within the industry.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grandnephew, Chandra Kumar Bose, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2023, on Sunday (April 12, 2026) joined the Trinamool Congress. Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls, Mr. Bose said his earlier decision to join the BJP was a “historic mistake.”
The Trinamool Congress on Thursday (April 9, 2026) alleged that Aam Janata Unnyan Party (AJUP) chief Humayun Kabir took money from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “plot and mislead” Muslims of West Bengal.
The West Bengal Artists’ Forum officially called for an immediate and comprehensive overhaul of industry safety protocols across West Bengal and Jharkhand following the tragic death of veteran actor Rahul Banerjee during a film shoot earlier this month. Representing thousands of actors and technicians, the Forum is leveraging the momentum of multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against production houses to demand stricter, legally binding regulations.
A political controversy erupted in West Bengal after a remark by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee eating fish during a religious period triggered a sharp exchange between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
