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FIR registered against Kangana Ranaut for spreading hate propaganda

Kangana

Kangana is again in a trouble. Dr, Riju Dutta, who is an activist and a TMC spokesperson, has registered an FIR against the Bollywood actress for allegedly spreading hate propaganda and inciting communal violence in West Bengal. He alleged that Kangana had intended to malign the image of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In a letter, he urged police to take the necessary action against the actress. Dr. Dutta is a resident of Raja Mahindra road in Kolkata.

Kangana’s account, which has been permanently suspended, was constantly provoking anger and violence, which was diminishing the value of global public conversation on the platform, according to a Twitter spokesperson.

Also Read: Twitter account of Kangana ranaut permanently suspended over hateful conduct and abusive behaviour

After the conclusion of the West Bengal election, the state saw post-poll violence, in which party workers and supporters across party lines died. Some vested interests, believed to be working under BJP IT cell created a storm of fake news painting a polarized nature of the post-poll violence. In all possibilities, this series of fake news triggered Kangana to spew communal posts on Twitter, which led to her account getting permanently suspended from the platform.

The complaint by Dr. Dutta read, “Kangana Ranaut has posted several posts from her verified official Instagram handle bearing @kanganaranaut in the ‘Stories’ sections. She has also distorted and maligned the image of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal – Smt. Mamata Banerjee. Hence she is to be charged against hate propaganda to incite violence in West Bengal.”

Also Read: Punishment of calling farmers as terrorists-Tweets of Kangana Ranaut vilifying farmers deleted by Twitter

On work front, the actress has attracted responses to her provocative tweets with communal angle. Designers Anand Bhushan and Rimjhim Dadu have cancelled contracts with Kangana and have decided to remove all pictures of the actress from all of their social media channels. They also have decided to not do any work with her in the future.

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Mamata Banerjee sworn in for her third term as chief minister of West Bengal

Mamata-banerjee

Today, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee took oath as the chief minister of West Bengal (May 05, 10:45 am) for her third term.

Mamata Banerjee left her Kalighat residence for her swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan. The newly elected MLAs of the TMC met and unanimously chose her the leader of the legislature before she called on the governor to stake claim to form the government. Banerjee, who lost from Nandigram despite the astounding TMC victory, can be sworn-in as the chief minister but will have to get elected to the assembly within six months of assuming office (Article 164(4)).

Today after her swearing-in ceremony, she will hold a review meeting on the situation arising out of Covid-19 in the state. The third time CM of West Bengal stated, “My first priority is tackling the Covid pandemic. I will go to Nabanna now and hold a meeting about the measures we are taking about this crisis. I will hold a press conference at 3 pm and let you know what measures we are taking.”

On her priorities in her third term, she further added, “My second priority is to tackle law and order in the state. I appeal to all political parties to refrain from any sort of violence. I will be posting special officers to handle the situation. We will handle the situation sternly.”

Also Read: Fake news being circulated regarding the post-poll violence in West Bengal

Responding to a question about her role in the 2024 general elections, Mamata Banerjee stated, “I am just a street fighter. I can boost the morale of the people so that we can fight a strong fight against the BJP. One cannot do everything alone and it should be a collective effort. If collectively we can take a decision, together we can fight the battle of 2024. But first let us fight this COVID crisis and then we will decide on this. Now is not the time.”

The TMC supremo has emerged victorious in the high-stakes, and highly personalized battles in West Bengal Assembly election on May 2. She has now become the CM of the state for her third consecutive term. The oath-taking ceremony, organized at Raj Bhavan, planned as a low-key programme given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, had some prominent faces in attendance.

A state government official stated that Mamata’s predecessor as CM, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, leader of Opposition of the outgoing House Abdul Mannan and CPI(M) veteran leader Biman Bose are among the few leaders who were invited to the ceremony.

Additionally Abhishek Banerjee, poll strategist Prashant Kishor and party leader Firhad Hakim were among the invitees for the ceremony which took place at the Raj Bhavan. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was also been invited for the ceremony.

Also Read: Mamata Banerjee wins Bengal election but loses Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari

Low-key event in view of pandemic

In view of the current Covid-19 situation in the country, Chief Ministers of other states and leaders of other political parties were been invited for the ceremony. While the infection tally in India has breached the 20-million mark, West Bengal has recorded 8,98,533 infections till date. On Tuesday, the state reported its highest single-day deaths of 107 Covid-19 patients, taking the toll to 11,744, the health department said in a bulletin.

An official stated, “It has been decided to keep the oath-taking ceremony of Mamata Banerjee a very simple one because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Banerjee will be the only leader who will be taking oath tomorrow. The programme will be a very brief one.”

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Fall of Congress and Left in West Bengal election- a brief overview

Cong-left

When Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee claimed landslide victory in West Bengal for the third time in a row, their primary challenger, the BJP will be consoling themselves by looking at the meteoric rate at which they have made their inroads into the state. BJP had won a mere 3 seats in the 2016 Assembly polls and were bolstered to around 80 seats in 2021.

The Left-Congress-ISF alliance, or the Sanjukta Morcha or the jot, has been left decimated. The alliance is currently on course to win either one seat, or none at all.

Also Read: Post-election violence in West Bengal at Arambagh, Nandigram, Natabari, Beleghata

In 2016, the Left-front had won 32 seats, and the Congress 44. The combined fall for both of them to the tune of 75-76 seats is a massive one. They were not in with a real shot at coming to power, but this is a debacle by the yardstick of even their most conservative expectations.

Over last decade, a Left-to-Right worker-shift phenomenon has occurred in West Bengal, in which longtime Left workers and voters alike were migrating to the BJP. The shift of the Left voters towards the right had helped the BJP across Bengal in 2019. In 2021 though, it is the consolidation of the anti-BJP voters that has proved decisive in certain regions of the state.

Also Read: Sitakulchi firing-Facts on the ground do not add up with the claims by the central forces

In any election where only two parties have any reasonable shot at coming to power, a third-party/alliance is likely to take a hit, especially since voters will not perceive that option as “really being in the race.”

The TMC-BJP binary on the key narratives of this election, such as “minority appeasement” and “Bangali vs bohiragoto (outsider)” further reinforced this and ensured that the Left was not really in the conversation that voters were having.

A large citizens’ campaign called ‘No Vote to BJP’ urged voters in the state to cast their ballot in favour of the strongest non-BJP alternative, as did rallies by protesting farmer leaders like Rakesh Tikait. But Left leaders and workers seemed miffed about campaigns like ‘No Vote to BJP’, as this does not chalk out an alternative to the BJP.

For example, Aishe Ghosh had remarked that, “When you do not tell the people what the alternative is, the problem lies there.”

Also Read: West Bengal is a tough battlefield for BJP-an overview from historical, cultural & economic standpoints

In a political subtext, the concern among the Left-Congress-ISF alliance was that if such a narrative took hold among voters opposed to the BJP, they could consolidate behind TMC instead, as by and large, across Bengal, TMC was seen as the more potent challenger to the BJP.

Especially in Muslim-majority districts like Malda and Murshidabad, fears of a splitting of the Muslim vote helping the BJP led to a consolidation for the TMC. This further reduced the Left-Congress-ISF alliance’s seat prospects.

It is a combination of these and myriad other factors that has reduced the once-mighty Left and Congress to almost nothing in West Bengal. And as far as the Left’s role is concerned in Bengal’s Vidhan Sabha, they were ousted from power in 2011, and have now been ousted from the opposition in 2021.

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What led to BJP’s defeat-Important highlights at the conclusion of the West Bengal election

West Bengal election

The West Bengal election has concluded and its results are here. The city of Kolkata has reaffirmed its faith in the Trinamool congress led by Mamata Banerjee, whose call of “Khela hobe” has taken the state and to some extent the nation by storm. People from across the country had their eyes fixed upon the West Bengal assembly elections. It was because it was a major election, where BJP was hoping to dash one of the last two bastions* of opposition & had left no stone unturned in unseating TMC from power. (* Other is Kerala)

Also Read: West Bengal is a tough battlefield for BJP-an overview from historical, cultural & economic standpoints

In the nail-biting election, Mamata Banerjee has won the mandate, but has lost the seat of Nandigram by 1956 votes. But, still she can easily become the CM. For this, she just has to become a member of the legislative assembly within six months. It can be done by contesting bypolls to any seat left vacant or where polls could not be held for some reason.

Article 164 of Indian constitution deals with the provisions relating to the post of Chief Minister, & under this section the specific section 4, ie Article 164(4) states that an unelected member can assume the office as CM but he or she has to either win a bypoll or get elected to the Legislative assembly within six months to retain the position.

Also Read: TMC vs BJP-Giving too much attention on criticizing a non-existential opponent can cause problem

 

Not only the city of Kolkata, but also the entire state stood strong with Mamata Banerjee, famously known as Didi in this electoral battle. The TMC recorded a huge victory in Kolkata by sweeping all of the 16 seats in the fray. The seat of Jadavpur which was won over from the Left front added as a cherry on the top of the electoral cake for TMC. These will bolster the confidence of the party workers in the city, as the party heads towards the civic polls, which has been due for some time now. In the seats of Ballygunge, Kasba and Kolkata port, the leads of TMC candidates are impressive. Subrata Mukherjee, from Ballygunge polled 85% of all the votes. TMC candidate in Entally Swarnakamal Saha polled 87% of all votes.

The spell of victory for TMC has spread over the suburban regions around Kolkata, including over the hindi-speaking population, which was the target support base for BJP. Through the use of social media, political spin doctors of BJP had tried to woo these voters using the traditional and predictable card of religion. But, this group of people in the suburban regions of Kolkata has turned the game over its head. For example the Hindi speaking voters residing in Jagaddal, Noapara, Bijpur, Naihati, & Khardah voted for TMC candidates. Candidate of Trinamool, Partha Bhowmick, who won from Naihati guessed, “People seemed to have rejected the turncoats in this poll.” Hindi-speaking voters in regions of Hooghly district like Chandannagar, Saptagram, Serampore, Champdani have also voted in huge numbers against the turncoats who jumped boat to BJP. In Barrackpore, BJP ended the contest empty handed by placing its candidate Arjun Singh, who was a TMC turncoat.

Also Read: Sitakulchi firing-Facts on the ground do not add up with the claims by the central forces

Anti-Incumbency against the seating legislators acted against the turncoats who shifted to BJP, whether it was Prabir Ghoshal from Uttarpara, Dilip Singh from Champdani or Rabidranath Bhattacharya from Singur. At Chinsurah, Locket chatterjee, who had won the 2019 general election, suffered a humiliating defeat in this assembly poll after boat jumping into BJP.  Apart from anger against the turncoats, who were seen as opportunists, there was also resentment against remarks made by Modi towards Mamata, which were perceived as derogatory and misogynistic. There was also the revulsion of women-folk against the type of politico-societal structures that BJP leaders like Adityanath were vocally intending to bring into West Bengal, like Anti-romeo squad.

Also Read: “We love our Romeos”, Mohua Moitra took jibe at Adityanath on his anti-romeo squad comment

As soon as the results showed a definite victory for TMC, post-poll violence grappled the state, in regions like Arambagh, Nandigram, Natabari, Beleghata.  Subsequently, the student organization affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), on Monday claimed that around 15-20 party workers of TMC attacked its office.

Also Read: Post-election violence in West Bengal at Arambagh, Nandigram, Natabari, Beleghata

In response to the violence, BJP has announced a nationwide dharna on Wednesday.  The party posted on its official Twitter handle, “The BJP has announced a nationwide dharna on 5th May against the widespread violence unleashed by TMC workers post the election results in West Bengal. This protest will be held following all Covid protocols across all organizational mandals of the BJP.”

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Mamata Banerjee wins Bengal election but loses Nandigram to Suvendu Adhikari

In the West Bengal election, the contest between TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari was a neck to neck fight. Mamata has won the West Bengal election, but lost the seat of Nandigram by 1736 votes to Suvendu Adhikari.

Till the fourth round of vote counting, Banerjee was trailing behind her one-time aide Adhikari in Nandigram in East Midnapore district by a margin of 3,710 votes.

But in the later rounds of vote counting, Mamata Banerjee had steadily picked up the pace. Adhikari and Banerjee were alternately leading each other by margins ranging from 6 to thousands.  At one point in the evening, it was reported that Suvendu was defeated by Mamata Banerjee by 1200 votes.

Once a trusted aide of Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari defected into the BJP last year along with other Trinamool Congress rebels in the presence of party leader and Union Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Midnapore. In the 2016 assembly elections in the state, Suvendu Adhikari had won the prized Nandigram seat for the TMC. Upping the ante, Mamata Banerjee vacated her existing seat of Bhowanipore to challenge her one-time “right-hand man”.

Also Read: West Bengal is a tough battlefield for BJP-an overview from historical, cultural & economic standpoints

Mamata Banerjee has stated that the party will legally challenge the result as she doubts that there have been some malpractices. In this regard, the chief electoral officer of West Bengal has stated that the returning officer would be responsible for the final declaration of counting. It must be noted that Mamata Banerjee had earlier stated that she will move the Supreme Court against the election commission, as she claims that the poll body works at the behest of the central government.

In a press conference, Mamata Banerjee congratulated West Bengal and it’s people for defeating BJP.

Mamata said at the conference, “Do not worry about Nandigram, I struggled for Nandigram because I fought a movement. It is ok. Let the Nandigram people give whatever verdict they want, I accept that. I do not mind. We won more than 221 seats and BJP has lost the election.”
She also added, “But I will move the court because I have information that after the declaration of results there were some manipulations done and I will reveal those. BJP has lost the elections. They played dirty politics. We faced the horror of the Election Commission.”

After the conference, Ms Banerjee paid a visit to the Kalighat Temple to offer her prayer to Goddess Kali as a mark of thanks.

 

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Vote counting update: Kailash Vijayvargiya credited Mamata Banerjee for TMC’s performance

Vote counting update

On Sunday, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya  credited Mamata Banerjee for the TMC’s astounding performance in Bengal elections. He said that his party would introspect the poll results. “The TMC won because of Mamata Banerjee. It seems people have chosen Didi. We will introspect what went wrong, whether it was organisational issues, lack of face, insider- outsider debate. We will see what went wrong,” he said.

As at 15:32 Hours, Suvendu Adhikari is ahead by 6 votes against Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram.

Prashant Kishor, the prominent Poll strategist  has indicated that he might step aside from his domain “to do something else in life.” In an interview to a media house, Kishore ruled out joining politics. He did not elaborate on what his future engagements might be. Kishor, who was engaged by the TMC, is being credited for the party’s stellar showing in the West Bengal elections, for which vote counting is underway.

For West Bengal election, the last round of vote counting is on.

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Vote counting in West Bengal: Suvendu Adhikari again in lead in a nail-biting contest at Nandigram

Bengal election

As of 3:30 pm, the TMC was ahead in 211 seats (22wins) and the BJP in 78 (five wins), with the ruling party comfortably crossing the halfway mark in the state with 294 assembly seats.

Also Read: Graffiti to Social Media-All in Bengal-BJP are not on same page regarding opposition to Mamata

Vote counting has begun for the recently concluded elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal for a total of 822 assembly seats.

In the keenly watched Nandigram seat in West Bengal election, the Suvendu Adhikari of BJP was holding on to his lead against chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was catching up fast. Around 2:30 pm, she was trailing by just 1,000-odd votes. BJP MP Locket Chatterjee was trailing in Chunchura, which falls under her Lok Sabha constituency.

Also See: What do the manifestos promise as election begins in West Bengal

The elections had begun on March 27 and concluded on April 29, with West Bengal witnessing the highest number of phases being slated for the polling.

While various exit polls have predicted a win for LDF in Kerala, victory for BJP in Assam, & landslide victory for DMK in Tamil Nadu, the polls have indicated at a close fight between TMC and BJP in West Bengal. Six out of nine exit polls have predicted a victory for TMC ensuring a third term for Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister. The current status of vote counting is showing a return of TMC by a landslide victory, cementing a strong position of Mamata Banerjee on the national political scene as an alternative to Modi. Her victory might herald an era of coalition politics at the national level.

 

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Vote counting-Mamata Banerjee takes lead over Adhikari in Nandigram

Bengal election

Mamata Banerjee has taken a lead over Suvendu Adhikari in the crucial seat of Nandigram, by 1500 seats; showing that her magic in West Bengal is still prevalent. On an overall scale, TMC is having a lead on 207 seats. Over this development, TMC leader Madan Mitra commented that Mamata Didi has defeated BJP, which is identified as a ‘420 organization’ by the people in Bengal who have rejected communal politics based on religious identities.

Vote counting has begun for the recently concluded elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for a total of 822 assembly seats.

The elections had begun on March 27 and concluded on April 29, with West Bengal witnessing the highest number of phases being slated for it.

While various exit polls have predicted a win for LDF in Kerala, victory for BJP in Assam, & landslide victory for DMK in Tamil Nadu, the polls have indicated at a close fight between TMC and BJP in West Bengal. Six out of nine exit polls have predicted a victory for TMC ensuring a third term for Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister. The current status of vote counting is showing a return of TMC by a landslide victory, cementing a strong position of Mamata Banerjee on the national political scene.

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PIL moved before Calcutta High Court seeking investigation into the incident of alleged attack on Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

high court

A PIL petition has been moved before the Calcutta High Court seeking Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or some other Central Agency probe into the incident of the alleged attack and manhandling of the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram while she was in a rally for filing nomination.

The Petition has been moved by three lawyers Shubham Awasthi, Akash Sharma, and Sapta Rishi Mishra through Advocates Bibek Narayan Sharma & Debanjan Mukherjee. Union of India, State of West Bengal, the Election Commission of India, and the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) have been impleaded as respondent parties.

Also Read: Officials of Election Commission should be booked for murder, said Chief Justice of Madras High Court while castigating ECI

The petitioners had filed a similar plea before the Supreme Court seeking issuance of guidelines and directions for investigation of future similar incidents which affect the Electoral machinery, to uphold the basic tenet of free, fair, and transparent elections in the Country. However, the Apex Court declined to entertain this plea filed seeking directions to CBI to investigate the incident injuring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. A three-judge Bench led by CJI had granted the petitioners liberty to withdraw the plea and approach the Calcutta High Court.

The plea states that such an attack on a Constitutional Functionary violates the idea of a free and fair election and has given free rein to Political Parties to influence voters and that since the alleged attack, the atmosphere in West Bengal had become one filled with allegations and counter-allegations by different political parties.

Also Read: Election commission has torn down the page of “impartiality” from its rulebook, says Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

The plea also states that poll violence is anathema to the idea of free and fair elections and need to be investigated in order to nip them in the bud, and achieve the goals which guide the functioning of a democracy. According to the petitioners, if the investigation is not allowed it would create difficulties as any constitutional functionary could allege an attack to garner such sympathy which might result in them gaining votes.

(Input from LiveLaw)

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Incidents of violence in fifth phase of West Bengal election-Mamata Banerjee alleges Phone tapping

Sporadic incidents of violence were reported in the fifth phase of West Bengal election. This year, West Bengal assembly election, is a high-pitched battle between TMC, which is looking forward to a third term, and BJP intending to make inroads into the state.

Also See: Would West Bengal election really be a three-way fight after the defections?

Incidents of violence

A clash broke out between TMC and BJP supporters, in the Shantinagar area of Bidhanagar with both sides accusing each other of stopping the voters from going to the polling booths. Officials said that bricks and stones were hurled, injuring eight people.

A scuffle broke out between TMC and CPI (M) supporters outside a polling booth, in Siliguri.

The TMC alleged that personnel of the central forces were asking voters to go back, a charge rubbished by the authorities, in Santipur in the Nadia district.

TMC and BJP supporters clashed after the opposition party alleged that voters were being prevented from going to the booths, in Bijpur in North 24 Parganas.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

On Saturday, BJP met the election commission in Kolkata. The delegation of BJP led by Swapan Dasgupta met the ECI and urged the CEO to take note of an audio clip, in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is proposing to hold a rally with regards to the firing victims of Cooch Behar. The BJP leaders underlined that this could lead to more tension in that region during the election.

It is worthwhile to note that Dilip Ghosh of BJP in a rally had stated that there would be more Sitalkuchi like incidents, which had drawn notice from the election commission of India. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has alleged that her phone is being tapped and said that she will order a CID probe into it. In the fifth phase, TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty cast her vote at a polling booth in Jalpaiguri. West Bengal has registered a 68.33 percent voter turnout till 3 pm.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

After the fifth-phase, the sixth phase for 43 seats will be held on April 22, seventh phase on April 26 for 36 seats and the last and eighth phase would be on April 29 for 35 seats. The results of the election will be declared after vote counting on May 02.