-The Hindu Kolkata: Emphasising the need for deploying Central paramilitary forces for conducting free and fair rural polls in the State, counsel for the State Election Commission told the Calcutta High Court here on Thursday that it was akin to handing over investigations of a sensitive case to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) to ensure an "impartial" probe. At the hearing, counsel for the Commission Samaraditya Pal, cited various instances where...

-Frontline   But in Modi's Gujarat the difference between development and darkness is all too visible to those who care to see. NARENDRA MODI may have won three consecutive elections and ruled Gujarat for more than a decade after he was posted there almost as a night watchman, to borrow a cricketing expression. He may have mobilised a massive fan following that is shouting to catapult him into the Prime Minister's post,...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee today waved at a rally photographs and newspaper advertisements that she claimed established "links" between CPM leaders and the Saradha Group and other deposit-mobilising companies, but steered clear of commenting on Trinamul's alleged connections with such entities. Addressing her first public meeting since the Saradha crisis unfolded, the chief minister did not mention if she was planning action against Trinamul leaders whose names have cropped up in...

-The Hindu Kolkata: Soni Sori, the tribal school teacher accused of acting as a courier between Essar Steel and the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), and Lingaram Kodopi, activist-journalist trained in Delhi, have been acquitted in one more crucial case by a Dantewada court. Fifteen others, including activists of various mainstream political parties, were also acquitted. Among them were Congress leader Vijay Sodi, CPI leader Lala Ram Kunjam and a panchayat...

-PTI BANGALORE: Padayatras, door-to-door campaigns and public rallies are the second choice for some senior political leaders in Karnataka who have realised the impact social media can make on people today and have quickly opened accounts on Facebook and Twitter. While social media provides politicians an additional platform to campaign, the real competition is who gets the maximum hits. Young politicians like Krishna Byregowda and Priya Krishna, both Congress, have had accounts for...