-The Hindu The ECI woke up late to the ill-effects the long campaign in Bengal had on public health The Election Commission of India’s decision to restrict campaigning for the remaining two phases of the West Bengal Assembly election is an instance of wisdom dawning late. Nevertheless, it will help limit the public health damage to what was already caused by an unreasonably extended election cycle in the State during the pandemic....

-The Hindu With logic, and data from unimpeachable sources, former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi’s book debunks the myth around exaggerated fears of Indian Muslim numbers An impartial analysis of Islamophobia in India would reveal that what generated it was not Islam but a sense of political insecurity born out of exaggerated fears of Muslim numbers. These anxieties came to the fore in the early 1900s after the partition of Bengal, the...

-The Indian Express The Election Commission order, however, continues to permit gatherings of up to 500 people in West Bengal. The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday banned roadshows, vehicle rallies, and public meetings of more than 500 people in West Bengal, noting that political parties and candidates were “still not adhering to the prescribed safety norms” during campaigning. Permissions already given for such events stood withdrawn, the Commission said. The directive came hours after...

-The Indian Express With 2.5 crore metric tonnes of paddy a year, and almost every family engaged in farming, East Burdwan district is the rice bowl of West Bengal. Burdwan: AMID much fanfare, in January this year, BJP president J P Nadda visited Mushali here to have lunch at the house of a marginal farmer. Following the meal, he announced the launch of the BJP’s ‘Krishak Suraksha Abhiyan’ and ‘Ek Mutho Chal’...

-Hindustan Times Income and urban expenditure grew at below the national average. But rural expenditure grew faster, and there is a sharper dip in poverty levels Poriborton, or change, was the buzzword 10 years ago when the Trinamool Congress (TMC) defeated the Left Front. This time around, one of the popular campaign slogans, used by the prime minister, is asol poriborton or real change. The demand for change clearly has not changed...