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Bengal Assembly polls: Will Cong go solo or stitch alliance with Left Front

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Kolkata, March 12: After Trinamool Congress announced not to ally with the grand old party in the West Bengal Assembly polls, it is to be seen whether Congress will forge an alliance with the Left Front or go it alone.

Sources in the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) said there is a divided house in the grand old party over the alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front.

“Those against any understanding to continue in the 2026 Assembly polls have their logic. Congress first had an alliance with Trinamool Congress in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and 2011 Assembly elections. Their logic is that Trinamool Congress constantly weakened Congress in West Bengal by poaching the latter’s elected public representatives one after another,” said a senior state Congress leader.

“This section also feels that the seat-sharing arrangement with Left Front, which started since 2016 Assembly polls and continued till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had blurred the vision of the state Congress leadership to strengthen its organisational strength in the state and instead depend entirely on the seat-sharing arrangement with Left Front,” the leader said.

However, the state Congress leader added that there is an opposite view within the state unit of the party in this matter.

“They feel that Congress’ current organisational strength in West Bengal is in such a state, that any decision to go alone in the 2026 Assembly polls will mean accepting the defeat before the battle is fought. Now since both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have ruled out all possibilities of any Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance in the 2026 polls, the only alternative for Congress in case of any seat-sharing arrangement is with the Left Front,” the state Congress leader said.

However, he added, Congress’ central high command is not in favour of enforcing any decision on this issue on the state leadership.

“Rather our central leadership wants to reach a decision only after feeling the pulse of the state Congress leadership and more importantly the grassroots level Congress workers. A delegation of the All India Congress committee is expected to be on a tour to West Bengal either in June or July this year which might be headed by our national president Mallikarjun Kharge. This delegation will interact with the different levels of state leadership on this issue and only after that, any decision on seat sharing arrangement will be reached,” said the WBPCC leader.

Complications on the seat sharing agreement are there on the part of CPI(M) as well, which surface from the proposals in the draft political resolution for the 24th party Congress scheduled at Madurai in Tamil Nadu in April this year.

In that draft political resolution, released last month, the CPI(M)’s central leadership focussed more on independent political lines in the coming days rather than on electoral understanding.

“The party should pay more attention to the independent political campaign and mass mobilisation around the political platform of the party. There should be no blurring of our independent identity or diminishing of our independent activities in the name of electoral understanding or alliances,” the draft political resolution of CPI(M) read.

To maintain the independent line, the draft resolution had cautiously touched upon West Bengal and Tripura, where the CPI(M)- led Left Front had electoral understanding and seat-sharing arrangements with Congress in the past elections.

“A significant increase in the strength of the party requires the rebuilding and expansion of the party and the Left in West Bengal and Tripura. In West Bengal, while conducting mass struggles and movements, special attention should be paid to working among the rural poor and organising them. The party has to focus more on the political and ideological fight against the BJP while opposing both the TMC and BJP,” the draft political resolution as regards the West Bengal perspective has stressed.

Crime

UP Shocker: Mother Of 5 Children Dies After Beaten Up By 24-Year-Old Lover Over Breakup In Noida

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A mother of five children died after her 24-year-old allegedly beaten her up following a heated argument over breakup on Monday in Noida. According to reports, the victim has been identified as Neeraj. The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested the accused boyfriend.

According to police, woman’s husband Satish, originally a resident of village Hathni Gud in Badaun district, works in a private company. He lives on rent in a house located in Mamura village with his wife Neeraj and five children. Neeraj had an extramarital affair with Arjun, a resident of village Sahpur in Shahjahanpur district who lived in the neighbourhood, for the past three years.

Arjun worked as a housekeeper in a private company located in Sector-59. Husband Satish was unaware of their affair. Neeraj went to meet Arjun in his room in the neighbourhood on Monday evening around 6 PM. Here, a fight broke out between the two about breakup. After the argument, Arjun physically assaulted Neeraj. During this, Neeraj became unconscious and fell to the ground.

Panicked Arjun rushed her to a nearby hospital, from where the woman was referred to Kailash Hospital. Seeing no improvement in her condition, the woman was referred to the district hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

After being alerted, police arrived and sent the body for the post-mortem. They also took boyfriend Arjun into custody. Family members allege that Arjun murdered Neeraj by strangulation.

According to police, the woman had married Satish about 13 years ago. The couple has five children. To educate the children, Satish brought Neeraj from his ancestral village to Noida about five years ago. While living in lane number eight, Neeraj became friends with Arjun, who lived in the neighbourhood. Gradually, the friendship between the two turned into a love affair. Arjun is 24 years old and unmarried.

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Odisha Self-Immolation Case: Congress Workers Stage Protest Over Balasore Student’s Death Outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar

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Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Tensions flared outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning as Congress workers staged a protest following the death of a 20-year-old student from Balasore who had attempted self-immolation.

The protesting Congress workers were detained by police.

AIIMS Bhubaneswar Confirms The Death Of The Student

Earlier on Monday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar confirmed the death of the 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Odisha’s Balasore, who had attempted self-immolation.

The Department of Burn Centre, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said in a statement that the patient was brought to the casualty on July 12 and was referred from Balasore District Headquarters Hospital to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

“She was admitted to the Burns Centre ICU. The patient was resuscitated with IV fluids, IV antibiotics, intubated and put on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 PM on July 14,” the statement said.

The 20-year-old student set herself on fire after allegedly facing prolonged sexual harassment by her college’s Head of Department. Despite lodging a formal complaint and seeking help from the principal, her pleas were ignored, leading to the tragic incident. The incident occurred at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi Expresses Grief

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief and assured the family of the deceased that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law.

In a post on X, CM Majhi said, “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of the female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College. Despite the government’s fulfilment of all responsibilities and the tireless efforts of the expert medical team, the victim’s life could not be saved. I pray for the eternal peace of her departed soul and beseech Lord Jagannath to grant strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss.”

“I assure the family of the deceased student that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law. For this, I have personally issued instructions to the authorities. The government stands firmly with the family,” the Odisha CM emphasised.

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UP Rains Fury: 13 Dead, Villages Cut Off Amid Lightning Strikes, Floods In Bundelkhand & Purvanchal

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Torrential rains wreaked havoc across Bundelkhand and eastern UP on Saturday, claiming 13 lives and displacing hundreds. With no immediate relief in sight, multiple districts reported house collapses, electrocutions, and flood related isolation.

According to the meteorological department, Chitrakoot saw the highest rainfall at 216 mm, followed by Kanpur (126 mm) and Banda (115 mm). Rain continued through the night in many parts of Purvanchal, flooding homes and cutting off access in rural areas.

In Banda’s Badokhar area, lightning struck a mud house, killing one child and injuring two others. Another lightning strike in Kamaisin village killed a farmer. Across the state, five deaths were reported due to lightning, including in Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Chandauli, and Bhadohi.

In Chitrakoot, a wall collapsed as flash floods claimed three lives. In Mahoba, swelling rivers and overflowing drains cut off 20 villages, forcing residents to travel an extra 30 km for basic access. Schools and homes flooded, leaving children stranded. In Unnao, a youth died while planting paddy in a field during a lightning strike. Hamirpur recorded one fatality and multiple injuries from a similar incident, with fields turning into death traps amid the downpour.

Rescue efforts continued late into the evening, including the dramatic 10-hour rescue of a farmer stranded on an island in Banda after the Ranj river’s sudden rise. With more rain forecast through the week, residents brace for further disruptions and losses.

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