Janata Dal (United) leader and former Rajya Sabha MP KC Tyagi on Tuesday announced his decision to quit the party, ANI reported. The development comes a day after JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state. Kumar
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Former MP KC Tyagi quits JD(U)His exit comes amid shifting political currents within the JD(U) and its alliances, and is being viewed in political circles as an indication of possible churn within the party’s senior leadership Published on: Mar 17, 2026 6:01 PM IST By Sanjeev K Jha
TMC releases list of candidates, Mamata says 'will win over 226 seats'
TMC releases list of candidates for Bengal Polls, Mamata says 'will win more than 226 seats'
Projecting confidence ahead of the polls, Banerjee asserted that the TMC would secure a comfortable victory. “We will win more than 226 seats in the 2026 assembly polls,” she said.
The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday unveiled its candidate list for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, with party chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announcing that the party will contest 291 of the state’s 294 seats.
Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata, Banerjee said the remaining three constituencies in the Darjeeling hills would be left to ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, led by Anit Thapa. “We will contest 291 of the 294 seats. The remaining three seats will be contested by our ally, Anit Thapa-led BGPM, in the Darjeeling hills,” she said, flanked by the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and state president Subrata Bakshi.
Under the leadership of our Hon’ble Chairperson Smt. @MamataOfficial, and the guidance of National General Secretary Shri @abhishekaitc and State President Shri Subrata Bakshi, we are pleased to announce the full list of candidates for the upcoming West Bengal Legislative… pic.twitter.com/KOXzZ29YXz — All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) March 17, 2026
Projecting confidence ahead of the polls, Banerjee asserted that the TMC would secure a comfortable victory. “We will win more than 226 seats in the 2026 assembly polls,” she said.
She also sought to reassure party leaders and workers who did not feature in the list, saying they would be given organisational responsibilities. “All those who could not be accommodated in the candidate list will be accommodated in the organisation,” she added.
Taking aim at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Banerjee claimed the opposition’s strength would shrink in the upcoming election. “The BJP’s tally will decrease in this election. They will receive a befitting reply for their anti-people policies,” she said.
The announcement sets the tone for a keen contest in West Bengal, where the TMC is aiming to return to power for a fourth consecutive term.
Earlier today, the Election Commission of India (ECI), announced the appointment of 557 general observers, 188 police observers, and 366 expenditure observers for poll-bound West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry, along with by-elections for eight Assembly constituencies in six states.
West Bengal is the only state that will not only have the maximum deployment of general observers, but it is the only state to have one general observer for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state.
In the case of Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry, the number of general observers will be less than the respective number of assembly constituencies.
West Bengal will also have the maximum number of police observers at 84, followed by 40 in Tamil Nadu, 35 in Assam, 17 in Kerala, and four in Puducherry. In the case of expenditure observers, Tamil Nadu will have the maximum deployment at 151, followed by West Bengal at 100.
The Commission has directed that the observers be stationed in their respective Assembly Constituencies by March 18.
"The observers, upon arrival, will make public their contact details and will specify a time fixed every day for meeting the candidates, political parties, or their representatives or any member of the public to hear their election-related grievances," read the notification issued by the ECI on Tuesday.
The Commission appoints Central Observers under the powers conferred on it by Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to assist the Commission in the conduct of free and fair polls. They also oversee the efficient and effective management of the electoral process at the field level, the statement added.
In West Bengal, elections will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29.
In the first phase of polls on April 23, there will be polling for 152 Assembly constituencies, while in the second phase on April 29, there will be polling for 142 Assembly constituencies. According to ECI calculations as of now, at least 2,300 CAPF companies will be deployed in each phase.
(With IANS inputs)
Source: ZeeNews
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