Assembly Election 2021 LIVE Updates: Rahul Gandhi to address poll rally in West Bengal's Goalpokhar shortly

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

Gorkhaland demand takes back seat as GJM factions fight for political supremacy

With the two factions of the GJM - one led by Bimal Gurung and the other by his former deputy Binay Tamang - fighting for supremacy in the Darjeeling Hills, the imbroglio over Gorkhaland has taken a back seat this election, as key stakeholders pitch for development amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Over the past three decades or more, the demand for a separate state of the Gorkhas and the implementation of the Constitution's sixth schedule which provides for the creation of autonomous councils in certain tribal areas had been the two major poll planks of Hill parties. Gurung's return from hiding after a span of three years and his fight with Tamang for control over the region, however, have changed political equations.

PTI

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

Matuas swing between hardships and hope amid TMC, BJP slugfest over CAA

In the 2019 general elections, BJP had bagged a significant chunk of the Matua vote, which was overwhelmingly in TMC’s corner until then.

To counter BJP’s surge among the Matua community, Mamata Banerjee announced 1.25 lakh ‘pattas’, or land titles, to the refugees in West Bengal. Banerjee has carefully cultivated this vote bank for years and has even been appointed the chief patron of the community. She has reiterated that their voting rights automatically establish them as citizens of India.

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Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

How to find your name in electoral roll

West Bengal will go to polls on 17 April in the fifth of eight phases of the Assembly elections. Here is how voters can check their name in the electoral roll:

• Log on to the Chief Electoral Officer's website of the respective state or UT and click on the Electoral Roll option. Click on Main Roll, choose your Assembly Constituency based on the part of the city you reside in, select the exact area of the constituency or Part Number and click on Submit to get a PDF link to the electoral list.
• Calling the Voter Helpline 1950, prefixed by your area’s STD code. Select your preferred language and follow the instructions by the automated operator
• SMS <ECI> space <EPIC No> to 1950 (EPIC stands for Electors Photo Identity Card also commonly known as a Voter ID card). Example - If your EPIC is 12345678 then SMS ECI 12345678 to 1950
• Through the Voter Helpline mobile app

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

TMC delegation to meet poll officials in Delhi today

A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs will meet Election Commission officials in Delhi on Wednesday, the party said. The delegation will include parliamentarians Derek O'Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal and Santanu Sen. They are scheduled to reach the Election Commission office at 3.30 pm.

The meeting will take place days after the poll body barred TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours. She had on Tuesday sat on a dharna against the poll panel's decision.

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

Partha Chatterjee summoned by ED in ponzi scam case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday served a notice to West Bengal minister and senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Partha Chatterjee, ANI reported. The agency has asked Chatterjee to appear before for questioning next week in connection with a ponzi scam.

The TMC leader has been summoned in a probe into the I-Core chit fund company.

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

Rahul Gandhi to address first poll rally in Bengal today 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address his first election rally in West Bengal on Wednesday ahead of the fifth phase of state Assembly polls on 17 April. He is slated to hold two public meetings — one in Goalpokhar at 2.10 pm and the other in Bagdogra at 4 pm.

Shri @RahulGandhi will be among & interacting with people of West Bengal through public meetings throughtout the day.

Watch him live on our social media platforms.

TW: https://t.co/NGgQ2sohWz
FB: https://t.co/NPOcx48kHN
YT: https://t.co/jpjBr4Zm3P
Insta: https://t.co/C0Mr9TzMxd pic.twitter.com/3SPJ3uZwef

— Congress (@INCIndia) April 14, 2021

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

Bengal govt to start probe into Cooch Behar killings, says Mamata 

Mamata Banerjee also lamented that she could not meet the next of kin of the deceased earlier owing to a 72-hour ban on entry of political leaders in Cooch Behar, where four people were gunned down by CISF personnel, who fired in "self defence", on 10 April.

"Our inquiry will track everyone responsible for the cold-blooded killing and ensure they are punished as per law," she said.

The TMC supremo said she will also ensure justice for the family of Ananda Burman, an 18-year-old first-time voter who was shot dead outside a polling booth in the same district.

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

EC biased against Mamata Banerjee, alleges Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday alleged that the Election Commission was "biased" against Mamata Banerjee, after the poll panel recently barred the West Bengal chief minister from campaigning for 24 hours over certain remarks made by her.

The stature of a constitutional body like the Election Commission should not be demeaned for political benefits, an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said. Assembly elections are currently underway in West Bengal and the Shiv Sena, which is not contesting the polls, has extended its support to Trinamool Congress head.

"The Election Commission is biased against Mamata Banerjee. It is our request to the EC with folded hands that it should not listen to the BJP alone, but to everyone. It should not be biased," the Marathi daily said. 

West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LATEST Updates

Those responsible for Cooch Behar killings will be booked: Mamata

Those responsible for Cooch Behar killings will be tracked, brought to book, said West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday after meeting the families of victims shot by Central forces in Cooch Behar last week during the Assembly polls.