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Another round of district bifurcation in Bengal likely next year

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Mamta Banerjee

Speculation is rife that West Bengal is heading for a fresh round of district bifurcation by 2023.

Reportedly a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the preparatory planning for this proposed fresh district bifurcation has already started and the plan is currently restricted among a selected members of the cabinet and the top bureaucrats of the state. Although none of the top cabinet members and bureaucrats were willing to make any official comment on this matter, highly placed sources said if the fresh bifurcation is done the total number of districts in West Bengal will increase to 27 from the existing 23.

The planned three new districts will be forked out of the two big districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. To recall, the two existing districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas were formed by bifurcating the erstwhile undivided 24 Parganas district on March 1, 1980.

A state government official, aware of the planning on the formation of the three new districts, told IANS on condition of anonymity, that the proposed three districts would be Sunderbans, Basirhat and Alipur.

Of the three, the formation of Sunderbans district will be the most complicated process and it will have to be formed by forking out pockets from both North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas district. According to him, the proposed Sunderbans district might be forked out mainly out of Gosaba, Basanti and Kultali areas in South 24 Parganas district as well as Hingalganj and Sandeshkhali blocks in the current North 24 Parganas district.

The state government official also said that the formation process of the planned Basirhat and Alipur districts will be comparatively simple. Alipur might be formed with the pockets forked out of the Kolkata adjacent pockets in South 24 Parganas districts as well as the Assembly constituencies under Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, where from the MP is the Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary and the chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

On the other hand, the state government official said the proposed Basirhat district would be formed from pockets forked out of the existing Basirhat and Bangaon sub-divisions in North 24 Parganas district.

Since 1980, West Bengal has witnessed district bifurcations for seven times, out of which three developments were during the previous Left Front regime and four developments took place during the current Trinamool Congress regime.

The first event of district bifurcation in the state was on March 1, 1980 when the previous Left Front government was in force with late nonagenarian Indian Marxist, Jyoti Basu as the state chief minister.

The second phase of district bifurcation was on April 1, 1992, when the erstwhile West Dinajpur district was bifurcated into the existing North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts. At that point of time the Jyoti Basu-led Left Front government was in power in the state.

The third phase of bifurcation was on January 1, 2002, when the undivided Midnapore district was divided into the existing two districts of East Midnapore and West Midnapore. Mamata Banerjee’s predecessor, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was the chief minister of West Bengal then.

On June 25, 2014, when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime came to power, the new Alipurduar district was formed by bifurcating Jalpaiguri district.

Again, on February 14, 2017, the hill district of Kalimpong was formed by bifurcating the Darjeeling district.

On April 4, 2017, the formation of the new Jhargram district was formed by bifurcating the West Midnapore district.

Finally, on April 7, 2017, two districts of West Burdwan and East Burdwan were created by bifurcating the erstwhile undivided Burdwan district.

Commenting on the practical justification of the bifurcation of districts, senior political analyst and former registrar of Calcutta University, Raja Gopal Dhar Chakraborty told IANS that formation of smaller districts through bifurcation of bigger districts is always a welcome move.

“First this will provide a relief to the common people from travelling long distances to reach government offices. Secondly, formation of new districts means creation of new government offices which enhances the scope of fresh employment. However, at the same time, I would also like to say that like the formation of new and smaller districts I also do not find any harm in creation of new and smaller states through bifurcation of bigger states. There might be some sentimental issues involved with the bifurcation of states but creation of smaller states enhances administrative advantage,” Dhar Chakraborty said.

Crime

Delhi Police register FIR against unknown persons in Jamia vandalism case

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The Delhi Police on Thursday lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown persons in connection with an incident involving vandalism and damage to property at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), officials said.

According to the police, the case has been registered at Jamia Nagar Police Station, on the complaint of the varsity administration.

This is the second FIR registered in connection with the ongoing students’ protests at the university in recent days.

Earlier, the Delhi Police had registered an FIR at the Jamia Nagar police station against Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Imran Masood, as well as Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi, following a complaint by Jamia Millia Islamia registrar Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi.

Rizvi had alleged that the Congress MPs entered the campus without authorisation on separate occasions, amid the ongoing agitation.

Students of the university have been staging a hunger strike since October 12 demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU) and the removal of the University’s Chief Proctor over a “crackdown” on protesters.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the university expressed deep shock, disappointment, and concern regarding the incidents that took place on Tuesday night, which involved vandalism and damage to university property.

The varsity said that upon receiving reports of attacks on the campus, the proctorial team and JMI faculty members immediately arrived on the spot.

“They discovered that groups of protesting students and local residents had vandalised University gates and walls, brought down Gate No. 4C, pelted stones, and damaged the CCTV control room and cameras, while also severing their connections. It is reported that a group of masked protesters even reached the University’s boys’ hostel in an attempt to mobilise more individuals to join them,” the JMI said in a statement.

According to the University, viral social media videos posted by the protesting students themselves show extensive damage inflicted upon JMI property.

“This has left the university community deeply distressed and outraged,” it said.

“Most concerning is the fact that the vandalism began shortly after members of the protesting student committee had been in discussions with JMI faculty (this marked the seventh such attempt at dialogue initiated by the university administration),” the University said.

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National News

Sub-Inspector candidates clash with police in Patna over recruitment cancellation

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High drama and chaos unfolded in central Patna on Thursday as hundreds of Sub-Inspector (Daroga) candidates staged a fierce demonstration, breaking through police barricades and engaging in a confrontation with security forces at the busy JP Roundabout.

The clash broke out when police intercepted the protesting candidates to stop them from advancing further into restricted zones.

While law enforcement authorities managed to push back the core group of agitators and clear the main intersection, a heavy concentration of students remains gathered in the surrounding areas, keeping the security forces on high alert.

The candidates are protesting the sudden cancellation of the main written examination held for the recruitment of 1,799 Sub-Inspector positions.

Demanding an immediate withdrawal of the cancellation order, the agitators have urged authorities to restore the previously declared results and resume the hiring process.

Protesters accused the state government and recruitment authorities of deliberately harassing young job seekers.

Candidates stated that after putting in months of rigorous preparation and passing multiple stages, the abrupt annulment of the process has pushed their careers into limbo.

The agitation on Thursday marks the second major demonstration by Sub-Inspector candidates this month.

On October 5, aspirants launched a similar protest march from Gandhi Maidan toward the Chief Minister’s residence and the office of the Bihar Police Subordinate Services Commission (BPSSC).

During that attempt, police intercepted the rally before it could reach the JP Roundabout.

The unrest stems from an official release issued by the BPSSC on September 23, 2026.

The Commission unexpectedly scrapped the main written examination—originally conducted in two shifts on May 27, 2026—citing unavoidable reasons.

In its formal statement, the BPSSC noted that information regarding fresh examination dates would be announced separately, triggering widespread outrage among successful candidates who are now demanding accountability and immediate reinstatement of the selection process.

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Nagpur win gives beleaguered Congress face-saving foothold in MLC polls

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The Congress has reasons to celebrate the lone victory in the biennial Legislative Council (MLC) elections held for 28 seats across four states, though the strike rate converts into a meagre 3.57 per cent, with many of its regional allies faring better.

In these elections across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, the Congress won only one seat, in Maharashtra’s Nagpur Graduates’ constituency.

It has thus avoided a complete washout, a fear writ large before the Nagpur result was official, even as several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made snide, sometimes amusing, social media comments on its “zero” achievement.

The Congress can now argue that it still holds “pockets of support”, with Abhijeet Wanjari having retained the Nagpur “bastion”. So what if in Karnataka it was wiped out despite being in power, where the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency was perhaps the highest-profile Congress loss.

Though faring comparatively weaker in general polls of late, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituent Janata Dal (Secular) candidate A. P. Ranganath defeated sitting Congress MLC Puttanna by around 900 votes.

Losing an incumbent seat in the capital region was a major setback, with Puttanna being a veteran leader and the sitting member of the Council. Nagpur was the proverbial sobering balm for another loss, that at the Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency.

New entrants like the Prashant Kishor-founded Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) managed breakthrough victories at Congress expense. This loss too was arguably among its most painful, with Congress candidate Madan Mohan Jha, a sitting MLC and two-time winner, losing the seat to the JSP’s Suresh Prasad Rai in a closely fought contest.

Interestingly, reports noted that the INDIA Bloc vote was split because Laloo Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) fielded its own candidate, “hurting” the Congress’s traditional support base.

Yet, without Nagpur, a zero-seat tally would have made the narrative far more damaging politically, where the grand old party of India has been lately struggling to reach a three-digit figure in the Lok Sabha and slipping in consecutive Assembly elections. It has increasingly been relying on support from regional parties in general elections, being relegated to an inconsequential position in many states.

For the local satraps, a tie-up is tactical, with a few seats allocated to the Congress, so that vote banks are not fractured, and a similar equation can be sought at the national level.

As in Legislative Assemblies, every MLC seat in the six bicameral states adds to a party’s representation in the Legislative Council.

For the Congress, even a single additional member can show presence by participating in debates, committees, and legislative coordination. The lone victory can also be hailed as a possible psychological and organisational boost for the Congress after its poor performances in multiple constituencies. It has given the beleaguered party one win to rally workers and local leaders around.

Congress leaders add that the victory, coming from Nagpur, a politically prominent region in Maharashtra, allows the party to claim that it still influences specific voter groups such as graduates.

The single win gives Congress a basis to argue that the results were “mixed” rather than a complete rejection. However, the broader takeaway was that Congress performed weakly overall, while the BJP and its allies won a majority of the seats contested.

For the Opposition bloc, the main contest shifted to the RJD in Bihar, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, and the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) in Maharashtra, among others, showing Congress’ reduced influence.

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