West Bengal | Pakistan

India’s ruling Hindu-nationalist party has ordered detention centres for undocumented Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in West Bengal state, sparking fear among minorities that it could lead to arbitrary expulsions. The directive comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won power in the eastern state for the first time since the country’s independence in 1947. The order calls on local authorities to set up “holding centres” for “apprehended foreigners” awaiting deportation, as part of a broader crackdown on illegal migration. The government has defended its “detect, delete, deport” principle, saying those targeted are migrants staying illegally in the country. “Illegal migration has security and socio-economic ramifications which are often well beyond law enforcement” read the order, issued last week. The decision has fuelled anxiety among West Bengal’s roughly 35 million Muslims, many of whom share linguistic and cultural ties with neighbouring Bangladesh. Critics say the m...

Gunmen on motorbikes in India’s West Bengal ambushed and killed a political aide from the ruling Hindu-nationalist party days after it swept state elections, police said Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a resounding victory on Monday in the eastern state of more than 100 million people, taking 207 of the 294 assembly seats, for its first-ever state victory in West Bengal. Chandranath Rath, 41, a close aide of West Bengal’s BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari was shot dead late on Wednesday near his home in Kolkata. Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, now tipped to become the state chief minister, called it “cold-blooded murder”. Motorbikes blocked Rath’s vehicle, before the attackers opened fire in a barrage of around a dozen shots, hitting Rath multiple times in the heart. “The shooting happened at about 11 pm on Wednesday — the bikes that stopped Rath’s car have been seized,” West Bengal police chief Siddh Nath Gupta told AFP. “The bikes had fake reg...

Four people have been killed in political unrest after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party celebrated victory in state polls in West Bengal, police and party officials said on Wednesday. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept polls in the key eastern state of more than 100 million people, winning 206 of the 294 assembly seats, according to results announced on Monday, for its first-ever victory in West Bengal. West Bengal had been ruled by Modi’s fierce critic and adversary Mamata Banerjee as chief minister since 2011. Banerjee, leader of the regional All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), also lost her seat in the polls and has rejected the results. Police said clashes between rival party supporters erupted in the state capital Kolkata after results were announced on Monday. Analysts say the BJP’s victory in the largely Bengali-speaking state is one of its most significant since Modi was first elected prime minister in 2014, expanding its dominance beyond the Hindi-speaking heartlan...

NEW DELHI: The chief minister of West Bengal, who was swept from power this week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state elections, said on Tuesday that she had “not been defeated” and would not resign, in an unprecedented political twist. The BJP defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has been in power in West Bengal since 2011, securing more than two-thirds of the 294 seats when votes were counted on Monday. The BJP has never ruled West Bengal, a populous eastern state that borders Bangladesh, and its victory is considered a political milestone as the party now controls almost all states in eastern India. The TMC tally fell to 80 seats from its earlier 215, with Banerjee herself losing her seat. Banerjee said about 100 seats were “forcibly taken” from her party, which also had to contend with a “biased” Election Commission. She did not back her accusation with evidence. “I will not resign, I did not lose... officially, through the Election C...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed a “record” victory on Monday in key elections in opposition-held West Bengal state after official trends and partial results showed a thumping majority for his Hindu nationalist party. Votes were still being counted under tight security in the state of more than 100 million people, one of five states and territories that held elections in April and May where results were also being announced on Monday. The results should put Modi on a stronger footing while he battles a series of economic and foreign policy challenges, including high unemployment rates and a pending US trade deal, ahead of a general election in 2029. In keenly fought West Bengal, where Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never won before, the party was leading in 156 of the 293 seats and had won 48 others, according to the Election Commission of India. “The 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections will be remembered forever,” Modi said on social media. “People’s power has prevailed and BJP’s politics...

Voting began on Thursday in two of India’s politically key opposition-held states, with tens of millions casting ballots in West Bengal and the southern Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party in the national parliament, is hoping to make inroads in the opposition strongholds. In West Bengal, which has a population of over 100 million, polling opened in the first phase to elect members from 152 constituencies of the 294-seat legislative assembly. The second phase, covering the remaining 142 seats, will be held on April 29. “Nearly 36 million people are eligible to vote,” said Manoj Agarwal, the state’s chief electoral officer, adding that around 8,000 polling stations had been designated “supersensitive”. Modi’s BJP has waged an aggressive bid to dislodge West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has been in power in the state since 2011. Banerjee’s party won 213 of the 294 seats in the ...