July 15, 2026
Punjab NEET PG counselling 2025: Round 1 schedule out at bfuhs.ac.in, check key dates and other details here

Punjab NEET PG counselling 2025: Round 1 schedule out at bfuhs.ac.in, check key dates and other details here

Vamsikrishna03 mins mins

The Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot has begun the registration process for Punjab NEET PG counselling 2025. This process is being conducted for admission to Doctor of Medicine (MD), Master of Surgery (MS), Postgraduate (PG) Diploma, and Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats in medical colleges across the state.This year, admission to…

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Supreme Court NEW DELHI: SC Wednesday commenced hearing on the validity of the law for appointment of CEC, ECs by a panel of PM, a Union cabinet minister and LoP, while the apex court had in 2023 suggested that the committee comprise PM, LoP and CJI, even as it left the issue for Parliament to decide.Appearing before a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, advocates Vijay Hansaria and Gopal Sankaranarayanan contended that SC’s 2023 verdict was meant to bring an end to the executive’s prerogative in appointments of chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs) by appointing a panel consisting of the PM, the leader of opposition (LoP) and the CJI, but the law seeks to undo the verdict by restoring the Centre’s exclusivity in the decision-making process, as two out of three members are from govt.They emphasised that the independent authority must be manned by independent people and not by govt’s men. The advocates were referring to the CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which excludes the CJI from the appointment panel.The bench, however, said that the 2023 verdict pointed out that its order was to be followed till the law is framed and added how could the court now interfere after the law has been passed. The lawyers, however, contended that the ratio of the judgment cannot be undone by Parliament.Hansaria also submitted that the role of Election Commission has come under criticism and said it was unfortunate that slogan shouting was being done by political parties on a public platform. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, however, countered him and said that if abusive language is used against a judge, then should that mean the collegium system for the appointment of judges needs to be changed.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos‘Congress Will Be Wiped Out Everywhere’: DMK Warns Cong Over Support To Vijay’s TVK2 Dead, 200+ FIRs, 433 Arrested, Over 1100 Detained In Post-Poll Violence In West Bengal‘Asked Me To Pay Rs 5 Crore’: Ex-Cricketer Makes Shocking Claim On TMC After Bengal PollsPakistan Navy Helps Stranded Indian Ship In Arabian Sea After Distress Call: ReportTVK Emerges Largest, But Vijay Needs Critical Backing To Form Govt; Will He Succeed?Election Commission Blocks 68 Lakh Cyber Attacks; ECINET Handles Record Traffic on Counting Day‘Directly Promoting ISI Narrative’: BJP Slams Bhagwant Mann’s Remark On Punjab BlastsIndia–Vietnam Upgrade Ties | Billion Trade Push, UPI Link & Big Strategic Signal to China‘Shortage Of Funds’: Akhilesh Yadav Reveals Why SP Ended Contract With I-PAC Ahead Of UP PollsTeesta Issue Explained: Can Bengal Result Unlock Deal As China Factor Raises Stakes123Photostories10 adorable baby boy names starting with letter AKL Rahul’s Bangalore home is a crores-worth luxury retreat built on cricket success and strong family rootsContainer gardening UK: 7 best vegetables to grow in pots at home (and how to care for them)From Karan Johar to Dwayne Johnson: How Manish Malhotra quietly took over the Met Gala 2026’s fashion carpetMorning affirmation at 5 am: Start your day with clarity and calmHow to make Oats, Besan, and Chaach Chilla for a light summer breakfastAre you storing fruits all wrong? Why your fridge may be ruining their taste, nutrition, and shelf life10 subtle body language cues that reveal your true feelingsVisa hacks 2026: What smart Indian travellers are doing differently this yearComfort foods that are the quiet healers of your body (health benefits inside)123Hot PicksGSEB 10th Result 2026Delhi traffic advisoryDelhi rainPune child rape-murder casePerambur election resultIndia-New Zealand FTASugarcane price hikeTop TrendingNFL Trade RumorsIPL 2026 Orange CapCBSE Class 10 admit card 2026IPL Playoff Qualification ScenariosIPL 2026 Points TableMI IPL Playoff Qualification ScenariosJalandhar BlastNEET 2026: Exam-day guideGSEB Class 10th result 2026TVK Chief Vijay

Supreme Court NEW DELHI: SC Wednesday commenced hearing on the validity of the law for appointment of CEC, ECs by a panel of PM, a Union cabinet minister and LoP, while the apex court had in 2023 suggested that the committee comprise PM, LoP and CJI, even as it left the issue for Parliament to decide.Appearing before a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, advocates Vijay Hansaria and Gopal Sankaranarayanan contended that SC’s 2023 verdict was meant to bring an end to the executive’s prerogative in appointments of chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs) by appointing a panel consisting of the PM, the leader of opposition (LoP) and the CJI, but the law seeks to undo the verdict by restoring the Centre’s exclusivity in the decision-making process, as two out of three members are from govt.They emphasised that the independent authority must be manned by independent people and not by govt’s men. The advocates were referring to the CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which excludes the CJI from the appointment panel.The bench, however, said that the 2023 verdict pointed out that its order was to be followed till the law is framed and added how could the court now interfere after the law has been passed. The lawyers, however, contended that the ratio of the judgment cannot be undone by Parliament.Hansaria also submitted that the role of Election Commission has come under criticism and said it was unfortunate that slogan shouting was being done by political parties on a public platform. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, however, countered him and said that if abusive language is used against a judge, then should that mean the collegium system for the appointment of judges needs to be changed.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos‘Congress Will Be Wiped Out Everywhere’: DMK Warns Cong Over Support To Vijay’s TVK2 Dead, 200+ FIRs, 433 Arrested, Over 1100 Detained In Post-Poll Violence In West Bengal‘Asked Me To Pay Rs 5 Crore’: Ex-Cricketer Makes Shocking Claim On TMC After Bengal PollsPakistan Navy Helps Stranded Indian Ship In Arabian Sea After Distress Call: ReportTVK Emerges Largest, But Vijay Needs Critical Backing To Form Govt; Will He Succeed?Election Commission Blocks 68 Lakh Cyber Attacks; ECINET Handles Record Traffic on Counting Day‘Directly Promoting ISI Narrative’: BJP Slams Bhagwant Mann’s Remark On Punjab BlastsIndia–Vietnam Upgrade Ties | $25 Billion Trade Push, UPI Link & Big Strategic Signal to China‘Shortage Of Funds’: Akhilesh Yadav Reveals Why SP Ended Contract With I-PAC Ahead Of UP PollsTeesta Issue Explained: Can Bengal Result Unlock Deal As China Factor Raises Stakes123Photostories10 adorable baby boy names starting with letter AKL Rahul’s Bangalore home is a crores-worth luxury retreat built on cricket success and strong family rootsContainer gardening UK: 7 best vegetables to grow in pots at home (and how to care for them)From Karan Johar to Dwayne Johnson: How Manish Malhotra quietly took over the Met Gala 2026’s fashion carpetMorning affirmation at 5 am: Start your day with clarity and calmHow to make Oats, Besan, and Chaach Chilla for a light summer breakfastAre you storing fruits all wrong? Why your fridge may be ruining their taste, nutrition, and shelf life10 subtle body language cues that reveal your true feelingsVisa hacks 2026: What smart Indian travellers are doing differently this yearComfort foods that are the quiet healers of your body (health benefits inside)123Hot PicksGSEB 10th Result 2026Delhi traffic advisoryDelhi rainPune child rape-murder casePerambur election resultIndia-New Zealand FTASugarcane price hikeTop TrendingNFL Trade RumorsIPL 2026 Orange CapCBSE Class 10 admit card 2026IPL Playoff Qualification ScenariosIPL 2026 Points TableMI IPL Playoff Qualification ScenariosJalandhar BlastNEET 2026: Exam-day guideGSEB Class 10th result 2026TVK Chief Vijay

Vamsikrishna02 mins mins

NEW DELHI: SC Wednesday commenced hearing on the validity of the law for appointment of CEC, ECs by a panel of PM, a Union cabinet minister and LoP, while the apex court had in 2023 suggested that the committee comprise PM, LoP and CJI, even as it left the issue for Parliament to decide.Appearing before…

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From ‘slop’ to ‘rage bait’: When language turns into warnings – what 2025 ‘Words of the Year’ reveal about AI

From ‘slop’ to ‘rage bait’: When language turns into warnings – what 2025 ‘Words of the Year’ reveal about AI

Vamsikrishna09 mins mins

How 2025 Words Of The Year exposed the digital mess we live in NEW DELHI: Once upon a time, new words made the world feel larger. They came from science, from art, from discovery. They named planets, ideas, emotions. They made language feel like progress.In 2025, the words made language feel like a warning.This year’s…

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Ahmed Khan opens up on why Sanjay Dutt walked out of ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ midway through the shoot, ‘We shot a part’

Ahmed Khan opens up on why Sanjay Dutt walked out of ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ midway through the shoot, ‘We shot a part’

Vamsikrishna03 mins mins

Ahmed Khan revealed Sanjay Dutt exited ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ due to date issues, not tension, after flying to the US for treatment. Some scenes were already shot with him. Dutt himself convinced Suniel Shetty and Jackie Shroff to step in. The film, starring Akshay Kumar and others, has crossed Rs 100 crore worldwide. ‘Welcome…

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Magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Japan; 16-inch tsunami wave recorded

Magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Japan; 16-inch tsunami wave recorded

Vamsikrishna02 mins mins

A strong 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan late Monday, triggering tsunami alerts and small waves along the Pacific coast, with authorities urging residents to move to higher ground as safety checks and damage assessments began.The Japanese meteorological agency (JMA) said the quake hit around 11:15pm local time, with its epicenter located about 80 km…

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Rajya Sabha: Over 7 lakh households get zero electricity bills after rooftop solar installation under govt scheme | India News

Rajya Sabha: Over 7 lakh households get zero electricity bills after rooftop solar installation under govt scheme | India News

Vamsikrishna02 mins mins

NEW DELHI: Over 7.7 lakh households receive zero electricity bills after installing rooftop solar panels under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, minister of state for new and renewable energy Shripad Yesso Naik informed Parliament on Tuesday.The minister said the govt has so far provided subsidy support of Rs 13,926 crore, while over 8.3…

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May 03, 2026, 21:33 IST

May 03, 2026, 21:33 IST

Vamsikrishna02 mins mins

Sir Alex Ferguson (Getty Images) Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was admitted to hospital on Sunday after feeling unwell ahead of the club’s Premier League clash against Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. The 84-year-old football legend, who still regularly attends Manchester United matches both home and away, had arrived at the stadium to…

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Vikram Bhatt reacts to global success of Hollywood horror ‘Obsession’: ‘I sat back, laughed and thought this is ‘Raaz”

Vikram Bhatt reacts to global success of Hollywood horror ‘Obsession’: ‘I sat back, laughed and thought this is ‘Raaz”

Vamsikrishna04 mins mins

Vikram Bhatt reacts to global success of Hollywood horror ‘Obsession’: ‘I sat back, laughed and thought this is ‘Raaz” Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt has spent over three decades building a reputation as one of Bollywood’s most prolific creators in the thriller and horror space. From films like ‘Fareb’, ‘Ghulam’, ‘Kasoor’, ‘Raaz’, ‘Awara Paagal Deewana’, ‘1920’ and…

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Irdis Elba's best work to watch on OTT

Irdis Elba's best work to watch on OTT

Vamsikrishna01 mins mins

Idris Elba is one of those actors who makes every room he walks into feel ten degrees more intense. From Baltimore drug kingpin to tormented British detective to warlord, he has built one of the most quietly extraordinary careers in television and film, collecting some of the industry’s biggest wins and nominations along the way….

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Dec 21, 2025, 09:48 IST

Dec 21, 2025, 09:48 IST

Vamsikrishna05 mins mins

India’s Shubman Gill (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma) New Delhi: On the morning of the fourth T20I against South Africa on Wednesday, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar rushed to Lucknow. By evening, it emerged that vice-captain Shubman Gill was going to miss the remaining T20Is after suffering an impact injury on his right foot on the eve…

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. Defending her bastion of West Bengal for the fourth time to extend her term by another five years to 20 years was never meant to be easy for Mamata Banerjee. She was up against a formidable challenger, the Bharatiya Janata Party, its redoubtable election-winning organisation and bottomless resources and its star campaigner, Narendra Modi.For five years from 2021, Banerjee had been preparing for the fight to unseat her. Incidents that brought people spontaneously out into the streets like the rape and murder of a junior doctor working at the staterun R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, the rape of a student inside the college premises in Kasba, in south Kolkata, metres from the police station and a continuous flow of incidents of violence against women in rural areas had resulted in a spike in the prevailing discontent. She may have hit the streets to demand justice for the R G Kar victim, but that did not cut ice with voters nursing anti-incumbency sentiments. .In the regular course, Trinamool Congress should have been in the dock over its performance as a govt. Mamata Banerjee has been chief minister for 15 years. Anti-incumbency should have been the principal issue.Things changed. Instead of being a challenger, BJP metamorphosed into an oppressor, after the countrywide crackdown on ghuspaithiyas — illegal Bengali-speaking immigrants, presumed to be infiltrators from Bangladesh. The arrests, even deportation of some to Bangladesh, where they were stranded and harassed, angered Bengalis, regardless of whether they were Banerjee loyalists, or veering to the BJP, because it was the only alternative against the dominance and abuse of power of the Trinamool Congress in everyday lived experiences.The stunning declaration that Bengali was not a language, and Delhi Police’s search for a translator of the “Bangladeshi language” was perceived as an assault on the cultural identity, pride and history of Bengalis. BJP, in Bengali perception, became the party involved in the assault, attacking the idea of Bengalihood: eating fish and meat on days that were considered significant to the codes of Sanatan Dharma.The 2026 Bengal state assembly election was not meant to be a regular election. It was designed to be a once-and-for-all confrontation, an exercise in purification of the inflated numbers of ineligible voters, identifiable as Bengali-speaking — but mostly Muslim — infiltrators from Bangladesh, who had been given sanctuary by the Trinamool Congress after 2011, when it was first voted in. The Election Commission issued warnings, even as it kicked off the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar in June 2025, that Bengal would be next.What was deep-seated resentment among a very large and mixed section of voters over CM Banerjee’s Muslim “appeasement” politics seems to have been buried by the SIR-adjudication-deletion process. Even her temple construction zeal — the Jagannath Dham in Digha in BJP leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s backyard, or her laying the foundation for a Mahakaal temple in Siliguri, seems to have faded from the public sphere. SIR has become a personal issue for an overwhelming number of voters, those adversely impacted and others who are upset over the process of “othering” neighbours, friends, colleagues and acquaintances, because one in 10 people has been deleted or put under adjudication by the EC.Instead, the political discourse acquired a new classification of voters labelled “under adjudication”, and that has got so complicated that the Supreme Court took the extraordinary step of invoking Article 142 of the Constitution, which grants it the power to “pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it”, because 34.45 lakh people were being denied the fundamental right to exercise their choice through casting their vote in the Bengal election, following SIR. The EC’s decision to freeze electoral rolls without carrying out hearings has been overturned — which Banerjee has promptly appropriated as ‘her victory’ on behalf of the people.BJP’s blind defence of the SIR exercise as a necessary intensive and customised process to verify the citizenship status of all voters, ghuspaithiyas and eligible citizens, left its core voters stranded in several districts, adding up to over 70 constituencies, including the Matuas, a Schedule Caste community that fled in large numbers after 1971. The purpose of SIR, as Union home minister Amit Shah declared in Parliament, was “Detect, delete, deport”.SIR seems to have overtaken anti-incumbency as the principal issue in this election. The reason is simple: the effect of SIR is that 91 lakh voters have been either deleted or put under adjudication, that is just under 12%; and the number of voters has declined to 6.44 crore from 7.08 crore. The election has turned into a confrontation between Trinamool Congress and the EC on the one hand, and Trinamool Congress and BJP on the other. As the only party that has consistently supported the SIR process and the EC’s implementation, even after the Supreme Court invoked Article 142 for the purpose of “doing complete justice”, in the perception of large numbers of voters, the EC and the BJP are interchangeable entities.Discontent that can be generalised as anti-incumbency exists. There is also widespread satisfaction, especially among women, because Banerjee is perceived as one who caters to their needs, through direct cash transfer programmes like the Lakshmir Bhandar and Swasthya Sathi cashless healthcare services. This loyalty is not transactional; it cannot be bought off by doubling the cash transfer as promised by BJP under the renamed Lakshmir Bhandar, the Matri Shakti Bharosa Scheme. The disproportionate deletions of 57 lakh women from the electoral roll cuts into Banerjee’s most loyal vote bank, since over 50% of women have voted for her in preceding elections. It may trigger the swing away from her to BJP, as the alternative.The difference between 2021 and now is that Trinamool is no longer haemorrhaging as it was then; the spate of defections to BJP in 2021 has ended. There has been a reverse flow from BJP to the Trinamool over the past five years, the most recent and significant being Adhikari’s close aide Pabitra Kar, who is also a Trinamool candidate from Nandigram.Instead of being a challenger offering a better alternative, BJP — with its double-engine model and its campaign on “zero tolerance for ghuspaithiyas ” — has become the party that aims to serve Bengal by prioritising the rounding up of infiltrators from Bangladesh, the majority of whom are Muslims in its estimate, and deporting them. As the campaign has progressed, the home minister has made it clear that once the election is over, every ineligible voter, deleted by the tribunal set up on the orders of Supreme Court, will be deported.When the context for a state election is about legacy issues carried over after momentous changes in India’s neighbourhood and not a straightforward contest between competing political parties about better governance, politics becomes a competition in striking the most resonant sentimental chords. The question is, has BJP been able to frame Trinamool as the last and worst perpetrator of legitimising, on a large scale, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, or has Trinamool nailed BJP for being “anti-Bengali”? The new variable in the electoral fight is the home-grown Indian Secular Front, which won one seat in 2021. The party is now contesting in over 30 seats and expects to shave off Muslim and Dalit votes, which it can do only at Trinamool’s cost.The principal rivals, Trinamool Congress and BJP, have positioned themselves as champions of Bengali nationhood. In BJP’s version, the Bengali nation needs to be cleansed of Muslims from Bangladesh, who have been illegally granted sanctuary and pose a threat to the Hindu majority. In Trinamool’s version, the idea of Bengal/India, shaped by generations of Bengali nationalist leaders, who contributed to the narrative and politics of the freedom struggle, needs to be defended against distortions and mutations that destroy its essence as secular, inclusive and custodian of that imagined space where “streams of humans” end up mingling in the ocean of great humanity.The Trinamool Congress slogans in the 2026 election are assertions of how “Bangla” is the victim and how it shall triumph: “ Jataoi koro hamla, abar jitbe Bangla (No matter how many attacks, Bengal will win)” is the war cry. By positioning herself as the champion of Bangla’s identity, which includes its cultural pride in being plural and inclusive, Banerjee hopes to make sentiment work in her favour, burying the entirely valid discontent that has grown against her local leadership at the grassroots in urban and rural areas.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosUS Nationals Detained At Srinagar Airport Over Banned Satellite DeviceNo Fuel Shortage: Govt Assures 100% Domestic Gas Supply As India’s LPG Demand Falls 13% In MarchPM Modi Takes ‘Jhalmuri’ Break, Interacts With Locals In West Bengal’s Jhargram Amid Poll CampaignIndia Warns Iran Of Consequences After Attack On Two Tankers In Strait Of HormuzIndia Expands Export Relief After Hormuz Tensions Adds Egypt & Jordan To Shield Trade RoutesCongress Holds Protest After PM Modi’s Address To The Nation On Women’s Reservation Bill SetbackIndia’s Naval Push In Indo-Pacific: IOS Sagar Departs Phuket After Successful Thailand Port CallManipur Streets Erupt As Security Forces Fire Tear Gas On Protesters | WatchManipur Horror: Retired Soldier Among Two Shot Dead In Ukhrul Highway AttackWhat We Know About Indian Ships Hit In Hormuz Strait By Iran Gunboats And Unknown Projectile123PhotostoriesHow to get rid of rats naturally without killing them: Safe home and garden solutions5 style lessons from Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic wardrobeWhy you forget names instantly: It’s not your memory, it’s your attention, and here’s how to fix it5 Horror movies based on real-life events: ‘The Conjuring’, ‘The Exorcist,’ and moreTop 5 sneaker releases of 2026 you shouldn’t missWhy it’s so hard to end long-term relationships as per science, therapist revealsBeautiful Indo-Arabic and Persian baby names quietly used in Indian familiesHe never drank alcohol, yet was diagnosed with severe fatty liver: What this says about modern diets and silent lifestyle risksHow to stop rice flour roti from cracking: 5 proven home tips to make soft and puffed rotiAs Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh announce second pregnancy, a look at Bollywood’s cutest pregnancy announcements123Hot PicksIran warDelimitation Bill DefeatPurple cap winnerOrange cap winnerIPL Points TablePublic holidays April 2026Bank Holidays AprilTop TrendingIPL Orange Cap 2026VijayPM Modi LiveWorld Largest EconomySue BirdIce SpicePahalgam Pony Wallah StoryWomen Quota BillE Coli Smuggling CaseErika Kirk Event

. Defending her bastion of West Bengal for the fourth time to extend her term by another five years to 20 years was never meant to be easy for Mamata Banerjee. She was up against a formidable challenger, the Bharatiya Janata Party, its redoubtable election-winning organisation and bottomless resources and its star campaigner, Narendra Modi.For five years from 2021, Banerjee had been preparing for the fight to unseat her. Incidents that brought people spontaneously out into the streets like the rape and murder of a junior doctor working at the staterun R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, the rape of a student inside the college premises in Kasba, in south Kolkata, metres from the police station and a continuous flow of incidents of violence against women in rural areas had resulted in a spike in the prevailing discontent. She may have hit the streets to demand justice for the R G Kar victim, but that did not cut ice with voters nursing anti-incumbency sentiments. .In the regular course, Trinamool Congress should have been in the dock over its performance as a govt. Mamata Banerjee has been chief minister for 15 years. Anti-incumbency should have been the principal issue.Things changed. Instead of being a challenger, BJP metamorphosed into an oppressor, after the countrywide crackdown on ghuspaithiyas — illegal Bengali-speaking immigrants, presumed to be infiltrators from Bangladesh. The arrests, even deportation of some to Bangladesh, where they were stranded and harassed, angered Bengalis, regardless of whether they were Banerjee loyalists, or veering to the BJP, because it was the only alternative against the dominance and abuse of power of the Trinamool Congress in everyday lived experiences.The stunning declaration that Bengali was not a language, and Delhi Police’s search for a translator of the “Bangladeshi language” was perceived as an assault on the cultural identity, pride and history of Bengalis. BJP, in Bengali perception, became the party involved in the assault, attacking the idea of Bengalihood: eating fish and meat on days that were considered significant to the codes of Sanatan Dharma.The 2026 Bengal state assembly election was not meant to be a regular election. It was designed to be a once-and-for-all confrontation, an exercise in purification of the inflated numbers of ineligible voters, identifiable as Bengali-speaking — but mostly Muslim — infiltrators from Bangladesh, who had been given sanctuary by the Trinamool Congress after 2011, when it was first voted in. The Election Commission issued warnings, even as it kicked off the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar in June 2025, that Bengal would be next.What was deep-seated resentment among a very large and mixed section of voters over CM Banerjee’s Muslim “appeasement” politics seems to have been buried by the SIR-adjudication-deletion process. Even her temple construction zeal — the Jagannath Dham in Digha in BJP leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s backyard, or her laying the foundation for a Mahakaal temple in Siliguri, seems to have faded from the public sphere. SIR has become a personal issue for an overwhelming number of voters, those adversely impacted and others who are upset over the process of “othering” neighbours, friends, colleagues and acquaintances, because one in 10 people has been deleted or put under adjudication by the EC.Instead, the political discourse acquired a new classification of voters labelled “under adjudication”, and that has got so complicated that the Supreme Court took the extraordinary step of invoking Article 142 of the Constitution, which grants it the power to “pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it”, because 34.45 lakh people were being denied the fundamental right to exercise their choice through casting their vote in the Bengal election, following SIR. The EC’s decision to freeze electoral rolls without carrying out hearings has been overturned — which Banerjee has promptly appropriated as ‘her victory’ on behalf of the people.BJP’s blind defence of the SIR exercise as a necessary intensive and customised process to verify the citizenship status of all voters, ghuspaithiyas and eligible citizens, left its core voters stranded in several districts, adding up to over 70 constituencies, including the Matuas, a Schedule Caste community that fled in large numbers after 1971. The purpose of SIR, as Union home minister Amit Shah declared in Parliament, was “Detect, delete, deport”.SIR seems to have overtaken anti-incumbency as the principal issue in this election. The reason is simple: the effect of SIR is that 91 lakh voters have been either deleted or put under adjudication, that is just under 12%; and the number of voters has declined to 6.44 crore from 7.08 crore. The election has turned into a confrontation between Trinamool Congress and the EC on the one hand, and Trinamool Congress and BJP on the other. As the only party that has consistently supported the SIR process and the EC’s implementation, even after the Supreme Court invoked Article 142 for the purpose of “doing complete justice”, in the perception of large numbers of voters, the EC and the BJP are interchangeable entities.Discontent that can be generalised as anti-incumbency exists. There is also widespread satisfaction, especially among women, because Banerjee is perceived as one who caters to their needs, through direct cash transfer programmes like the Lakshmir Bhandar and Swasthya Sathi cashless healthcare services. This loyalty is not transactional; it cannot be bought off by doubling the cash transfer as promised by BJP under the renamed Lakshmir Bhandar, the Matri Shakti Bharosa Scheme. The disproportionate deletions of 57 lakh women from the electoral roll cuts into Banerjee’s most loyal vote bank, since over 50% of women have voted for her in preceding elections. It may trigger the swing away from her to BJP, as the alternative.The difference between 2021 and now is that Trinamool is no longer haemorrhaging as it was then; the spate of defections to BJP in 2021 has ended. There has been a reverse flow from BJP to the Trinamool over the past five years, the most recent and significant being Adhikari’s close aide Pabitra Kar, who is also a Trinamool candidate from Nandigram.Instead of being a challenger offering a better alternative, BJP — with its double-engine model and its campaign on “zero tolerance for ghuspaithiyas ” — has become the party that aims to serve Bengal by prioritising the rounding up of infiltrators from Bangladesh, the majority of whom are Muslims in its estimate, and deporting them. As the campaign has progressed, the home minister has made it clear that once the election is over, every ineligible voter, deleted by the tribunal set up on the orders of Supreme Court, will be deported.When the context for a state election is about legacy issues carried over after momentous changes in India’s neighbourhood and not a straightforward contest between competing political parties about better governance, politics becomes a competition in striking the most resonant sentimental chords. The question is, has BJP been able to frame Trinamool as the last and worst perpetrator of legitimising, on a large scale, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, or has Trinamool nailed BJP for being “anti-Bengali”? The new variable in the electoral fight is the home-grown Indian Secular Front, which won one seat in 2021. The party is now contesting in over 30 seats and expects to shave off Muslim and Dalit votes, which it can do only at Trinamool’s cost.The principal rivals, Trinamool Congress and BJP, have positioned themselves as champions of Bengali nationhood. In BJP’s version, the Bengali nation needs to be cleansed of Muslims from Bangladesh, who have been illegally granted sanctuary and pose a threat to the Hindu majority. In Trinamool’s version, the idea of Bengal/India, shaped by generations of Bengali nationalist leaders, who contributed to the narrative and politics of the freedom struggle, needs to be defended against distortions and mutations that destroy its essence as secular, inclusive and custodian of that imagined space where “streams of humans” end up mingling in the ocean of great humanity.The Trinamool Congress slogans in the 2026 election are assertions of how “Bangla” is the victim and how it shall triumph: “ Jataoi koro hamla, abar jitbe Bangla (No matter how many attacks, Bengal will win)” is the war cry. By positioning herself as the champion of Bangla’s identity, which includes its cultural pride in being plural and inclusive, Banerjee hopes to make sentiment work in her favour, burying the entirely valid discontent that has grown against her local leadership at the grassroots in urban and rural areas.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosUS Nationals Detained At Srinagar Airport Over Banned Satellite DeviceNo Fuel Shortage: Govt Assures 100% Domestic Gas Supply As India’s LPG Demand Falls 13% In MarchPM Modi Takes ‘Jhalmuri’ Break, Interacts With Locals In West Bengal’s Jhargram Amid Poll CampaignIndia Warns Iran Of Consequences After Attack On Two Tankers In Strait Of HormuzIndia Expands Export Relief After Hormuz Tensions Adds Egypt & Jordan To Shield Trade RoutesCongress Holds Protest After PM Modi’s Address To The Nation On Women’s Reservation Bill SetbackIndia’s Naval Push In Indo-Pacific: IOS Sagar Departs Phuket After Successful Thailand Port CallManipur Streets Erupt As Security Forces Fire Tear Gas On Protesters | WatchManipur Horror: Retired Soldier Among Two Shot Dead In Ukhrul Highway AttackWhat We Know About Indian Ships Hit In Hormuz Strait By Iran Gunboats And Unknown Projectile123PhotostoriesHow to get rid of rats naturally without killing them: Safe home and garden solutions5 style lessons from Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic wardrobeWhy you forget names instantly: It’s not your memory, it’s your attention, and here’s how to fix it5 Horror movies based on real-life events: ‘The Conjuring’, ‘The Exorcist,’ and moreTop 5 sneaker releases of 2026 you shouldn’t missWhy it’s so hard to end long-term relationships as per science, therapist revealsBeautiful Indo-Arabic and Persian baby names quietly used in Indian familiesHe never drank alcohol, yet was diagnosed with severe fatty liver: What this says about modern diets and silent lifestyle risksHow to stop rice flour roti from cracking: 5 proven home tips to make soft and puffed rotiAs Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh announce second pregnancy, a look at Bollywood’s cutest pregnancy announcements123Hot PicksIran warDelimitation Bill DefeatPurple cap winnerOrange cap winnerIPL Points TablePublic holidays April 2026Bank Holidays AprilTop TrendingIPL Orange Cap 2026VijayPM Modi LiveWorld Largest EconomySue BirdIce SpicePahalgam Pony Wallah StoryWomen Quota BillE Coli Smuggling CaseErika Kirk Event

Vamsikrishna08 mins mins

Defending her bastion of West Bengal for the fourth time to extend her term by another five years to 20 years was never meant to be easy for Mamata Banerjee. She was up against a formidable challenger, the Bharatiya Janata Party, its redoubtable election-winning organisation and bottomless resources and its star campaigner, Narendra Modi.For five…

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Will Ecuador allow US troops on its soil?

Will Ecuador allow US troops on its soil?

Vamsikrishna05 mins mins

Ecuador’s president wants to change his country’s constitution, and Ecuadorians will get to say whether they agree in a referendum this weekend.To be held on November 16, the vote will decide whether a nearly 20-year constitutional clause banning foreign militaries from having a presence in the country is repealed.Surveys by the Cedatos polling firm suggest…

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Mahindra’s massive Make In India push: 35,000 Scorpio Pik-Ups to be exported to Indonesia

Mahindra’s massive Make In India push: 35,000 Scorpio Pik-Ups to be exported to Indonesia

Vamsikrishna02 mins mins

Mahindra and Mahindra has announced that it will supply 35,000 units of Scorpio Pik Up vehicles in 2026 to Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, an Indonesian state-owned enterprise, for the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDKMP) Project. Notably, this single order is larger than Mahindra’s total vehicle exports recorded in FY25. These made-in-India Pik Ups will play a…

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