Elections 2026 highlights: Modi's cabinet, 19 CMs campaigning in Bengal, Mamata says 'BJP still won’t win'

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Amid high-octane campaign underway for Bengal assembly polls, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has took strong objection to union minister Amit Shah's recent remarks and threatened to file a “legal case” over the remarks.

“We are going to file a legal case against Amit Shah for his violent remarks. As Home Minister, he cannot make such comments,” Mamata told while addressing a rally in Hooghly on Saturday.

The CM's remark was in response to Amit Shah's threat to TMC workers during the first phase of polling in the state. The first phase of polling was held across 152 constituencies on Thursday, witnessing a massive turnout of 92.35 per cent.

“What kind of language is a Home Minister using? To say you will hang people upside down post-election is unacceptable. With this mindset, you will never win Bengal--never!” Mamata said, according to ANI.

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the BJP has deployed its entire machinery to defeat the regional party in the West Bengal assembly elections as almost the entire Union cabinet and CMs of NDA-ruled states are camping in the poll-bound state.

Addressing an election rally at Uttarpara in Hooghly district, incumbent chief minister Banerjee accused the BJP of giving false promises to migrant workers from West Bengal employed outside the state.

"The BJP is desperate, with 50 helicopters flying into West Bengal as almost the entire Union cabinet, from the PM to home, railway and defence ministers, as well as CMs of 19 NDA-ruled states camping in a single state — West Bengal," she said.

"On top of this, we are seeing central forces wherever we are going. They are bringing in armoured vehicles which are not put to use where such vehicles are needed," Banerjee said.

On Union home minister Amit Shah's reported statement that "TMC-aided goons would be hung upside down after the results", she said, "You are speaking in the language of terror. I know no action will be taken against you. But, I have asked our men to videograph his speech and submit the same to the court."

Alleging that 400 people were brought from outside to her constituency Bhabanipur, she said, “They were driven out. I will ask everyone to keep a tab on every hotel and guest house to identify such people who are helping the BJP.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the Narendra Modi government has filed several cases against him but not against Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, claiming this is because she does not "directly" fight the BJP.

Stating that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned him for 55 hours over five consecutive days, the Congress leader asked, "For how many hours was Mamata Banerjee interrogated?"

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that there is no probe by the ED or the CBI against the West Bengal chief minister.

"This is because she does not fight the BJP directly," Gandhi said, while addressing a poll rally at Serampore in Hooghly district for the second phase of West Bengal assembly elections.

There is no immediate response from the TMC in this regard.

Noting that he is out on bail at present, Gandhi said, "My house was taken away, my Lok Sabha membership was taken away; there are 36 cases against me."

The former Congress president said that he has to travel to various states like Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar every 10-15 days to fight the cases registered against him.

"I want to ask how many cases have been registered against Mamata Banerjee by Narendra Modi?" he said.

Only the Congress party takes on the BJP on an ideological basis, Gandhi asserted, claiming that Modi attacks him, party president Kharge and others round the clock.

Claiming that the PM attacks the TMC chief only during the elections in the state, he said, "Let the Bengal elections end; Narendra Modi will not speak a word against Mamata Banerjee."

Gandhi said Modi knows only the Congress party can defeat the BJP and RSS and their ideology, not the Trinamool Congress.

He accused the TMC supremo of destroying industry and creating joblessness in West Bengal.

"One has to have a relative in the TMC to get a job in Bengal, else he will not get any," he said, accusing the chief minister of working for the interest of goons and workers of her party.

Alleging that Banerjee did not do anything for the welfare and income generation of the people, the Congress leader pointed to the closed Hindustan Motors factory in nearby Hindmotor.

"Bengal used to be the centre of industry in the country, but first the Left Front and then the TMC destroyed everything," he said.

"If Narendra Modi indulges in corruption, then Mamata Banerjee is also not far behind," he claimed.

Gandhi said that it was during the TMC government that the Saradha and Rose Valley ponzy scams involving thousands of crores of rupees took place.

He alleged that coal smuggling and illegal mining take place in the TMC-ruled state and that goonda tax is imposed on every activity in Bengal.

The Rae Bareli MP alleged that the TMC brings down the same atrocities on Congress workers in Bengal as those in other parts of the country by the BJP.

"Mamata Banerjee had promised five lakh jobs in 2021, but has anyone got employment?" he asked, maintaining that 84 lakh youths have applied for unemployment allowance in Bengal.

Claiming that atrocities on women have risen under the TMC rule, the Congress leader pointed to the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in 2024.

"Mamata Banerjee is opening the road for the BJP in Bengal," he said, arguing that had she worked for the people's interests, the BJP would not have been able to make inroads in the state.

Bengal elections live updates: Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said in West Bengal's Hooghly that BJP and the RSS spread hatred, violence and arrogance while his party vouches for Constitution, unity, and brotherhood.

"You know that wherever RSS and BJP people go in the country, they only spread hatred. They incite one religion to fight another and scare people. A few years ago, the Congress party organised a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. It was the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Lakhs of people participated in that yatra, which had only one message: in the market of hatred opened by the BJP, the Congress party has to open its shop of love. This is our ideology...," Rahul Gandhi said.

Bengal elections live updates: West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress surpemo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday slammed home minister Amit Shah for his recent “ulta latka ke [hang upside down” warning for who he described as TMC "goons".

"We are going to file a legal case against Amit Shah for his violent remarks. As Home Minister, he cannot make such comments," Mamata Banerjee said at a public event in Hooghly on Saturday.

Bengal elections live updates: At a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) public rally in poll-bound West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman, Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP will sweep 110 seats of the 152 that voted in the first phase, “leaving Didi with no ground”.

"I promise you, on May 4, we will celebrate by offering Narendra Modi ji Bardhaman's traditional sita bhog, sweetening his victory," Shah said.

Bengal elections live updates: Addressing a poll rally on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims to be patriot, “but is selling off country”.

(via PTI)

Bengal elections 2026 live: Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday that India remembers Bengal as the land of art and literature, adding that it will be “liberated” from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) soon.

"...West Bengal is the spiritual land of India... When we talk about Bengal, Indians remember it as the land of art and literature... It is Bengal that gave independent India the national anthem and national song... Bengal will be liberated from the syndicate of TMC, Congress, and Communists...," Adityanath said at a BJP election rally.

Assembly elections 2026 live: Exit poll projections are expected after 6:30 pm on April 29, once voting for Phase 2 of West Bengal assembly election wraps and concludes the polling process for the polls overall.

According to rules, poll projections cannot be released before the conclusion of voting process of all phases of all states and Union territories going to polls during an election.

West Bengal elections live: Defence minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajnath Singh is holding a roadshow in the Goghat Assembly constituency.

Elections 2026 live: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will extensively implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and assured Bangladeshi Hindus of safety.

"Expatriate Bengalis have come; it's a good thing. But Bangladeshi Muslims voted out of fear. Not a single Bangladeshi Hindu is scared under the BJP government. There's no reason to be afraid. If Hindus are not safe in India, then where will they be?" CM Sarma said, speaking to ANI news agency.

Taking a jibe at chief minister Mamata Banerjee's "egg and fish" remark against the BJP, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Come eat along with me. I will eat one kilogram more than them."

Bengal elections 2026 live: Bhangar and Canning Purba are among the key constituencies of phase 2 voting in West Bengal which will take place on April 29, as these are among the very few seats where the incumbent Trinamool Congress faces a tough competition from another outfit than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Infamous for political violence and turf war not just during the elections but throughout the year, these two constituencies have thrown up challenges for the ruling TMC in retaining its grip over the party's stronghold of South 24 Parganas district.

In the 2021 polls, an outfit called Indian Secular Front (ISF) was the only other opposition party except BJP to win a seat — Bhangar.

The Bhangar NLA Nawsad Siddique-led ISF has fast replaced the CPI(M) as the main challenger to the TMC in this area.

Nawsad is known for having considerable influence in Bhangar as well as in Canning Purba, where Muslims make up a significant percentage of voters. The MLA for the Canning Purba Assembly constituency is Saokat Molla of the TMC.

Elections 2026 live updates: Ten of 152 assembly constituencies (ACs) in West Bengal that voted on April 23 are likely to have seen a decline in turnout in absolute terms compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, although only in one is the drop likely to be more than the victory margin of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to HT’s preliminary calculations.

This is interesting because turnout, in absolute terms, doesn’t usually fall in a state where the adult population is growing. Read full report here

Elections 2026 live updates: No repoll has been recommended in any of the polling stations in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu where assembly elections were held on Thursday, the EC officials said on Saturday.

While all 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu went to vote in a single phase, 152 seats in West Bengal voted in the first phase.

The remaining 142 seats will go to the polls on April 29.

Poll panel officials had earlier cited rules to point out that if webcasting in any of the polling stations is "deliberately" disrupted, a repoll will be ordered.

(via PTI)

Elections 2026 live updates: Results for the assembly elections and the bypolls to eight assembly constituencies across six states will be known on May 4, the day the Election Commission counts the votes.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) schedule, voting for five seats in Goa (Ponda), Karnataka (Bagalkote, Devanagere), Nagaland (Koridang), and Tripura (Dharmanagar) was held on April 9, while three seats in Gujarat (Umreth) and Maharashtra (Rahuri, Baramati) voted on April 23.

Elections 2026 live updates: Polling in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry was conducted in a single phase on April 9, while Tamil Nadu's one-phase voting took place on April 23.

West Bengal is undergoing a two-phase election. The first phase in Bengal concluded on April 23, with the second and final phase scheduled for April 29.

Counting of votes for all the states are scheduled for May 4.

Elections 2026 live updates: Assembly elections across four states and a Union territory - Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry - are progressing smoothly, with voting either concluded or entering its final phase. All eyes are now on May 4, when the Election Commission will announce the results.

A major highlight so far has been the impressive voter turnout. Tamil Nadu recorded an 85.15 per cent turnout, while West Bengal's first phase saw an even higher participation at 92.88 per cent, reflecting strong voter engagement.