Kolkata: Trinamool on Saturday announced the name of octogenarian MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as its leader of the opposition in the Bengal assembly.Chattopadhyay, one of the close associates of Mamata Banerjee since TMC’s formation in 1998, has emerged as the only MLA in the state who is set to serve his 10th consecutive term. He won…
Kolkata: Forty-eight hours after he was relieved by the EC as the special observer on May 7, retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta was on Saturday appointed adviser to chief minister Suvendu Adhikari. The appointment order came within hours after Adhikari took oath as CM at a ceremony at Brigade Parade Grounds.The state also appointed IAS…
Kolkata: The hallowed halls of the Bengal Legislative Assembly witnessed a symbolic and literal power shift on Saturday. In a move that local observers are calling the ultimate ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’, the furniture that once defined the previous administration was unceremoniously replaced to make way for the new order.The most striking change occurred in the…
Kolkata: With Suvendu Adhikari being sworn in as the ninth chief minister — also the first CM of Bengal under BJP, the change of power in the state was officially updated in his social media bio on Saturday. Amid the saffron wave, the words “chief minister” debuted in the bio of Suvendu Adhikari on his…
Kolkata: Hours after Suvendu Adhikari took oath as Bengal’s new chief minister on Saturday, security around his residence in Chinar Park was dramatically intensified, transforming the once-quiet residential stretch into a tightly guarded high-security zone. Till Friday, there was no visible security deployment outside Utthaan-II Resident Society at 167/4, Chinar Park. But from Saturday morning,…
Bongaon: Ashok Kirtania, the two-time Bongaon Uttar (North) MLA, inducted into the Bengal cabinet, is the only minister from the Matua community who is not a member of the Thakurbari household. From the Thakurbari family, Union minister of state Shantanu Thakur’s wife, Soma, and brother, Subrata, are both BJP MLAs.Ahalya Kirtania, his mother, broke down…
Kolkata: Kolkata airport has witnessed an unprecedented number of flights in just over a fortnight starting from the election campaign hitting a fever pitch between the first and second phase of elections in Bengal and Saturday’s oath-taking ceremony that was attended by the Prime Minister, home minister, defence minister and chief ministers of several BJP-ruled…
Kolkata: As former fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul took oath as the lone woman minister in the first BJP govt in West Bengal on Saturday, an emotional moment unfolded quietly in the crowd as her parents watched from afar with tears in their eyes.“The venue was so crowded that we could not even get near the…
Kolkata: Trinamool chairperson and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday exhorted all non-BJP parties in Bengal, including Left and ultra-Left, to join hands with TMC against the saffron party. Mamata said she was “personally willing” to talk to all interested parties to come up with a joint platform to defeat BJP, which was elected…
Jhargram/Kolkata: The crisp rustle of puffed rice, the sharp scent of mustard oil and green chillies, and the familiar clang of steel containers became as much a part of Bengal’s political transition on Saturday as the oath-taking ceremony itself.From Jhargram to Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, humble jhalmuri sellers unexpectedly emerged as some of the…
