EC To Deploy Central Forces From March 1

— February 21, 2026 Comments Off 2

IN an unprecedented move, the Election Commission of India has decided to deploy at least 480 companies of Central Forces in various troubled parts of West Bengal from March 1 next, a communique from the EC to the state government said on Saturday.

Since it would not be possible to complete the irregularities of logical discrepancies within such a short time frame, the top court has granted the Commission permission to publish supplementary lists as and when possible

As per the Supreme Court ‘s latest order, February 28th has been fixed for publication of the draft electoral roll of the state after an intensive SIR.

Since it would not be possible to complete the irregularities of logical discrepancies within such a short time frame, the top court has granted the Commission permission to publish supplementary lists as and when possible.

But the latest Commission communique has stunned the political observers as it said 240 companies of the Central Forces have been drafted for deployment from March 1 while the rest would be deployed by Match 10.

In the last assembly poll conducted over eight phases, 1140 companies were stationed throughout the state.

Grapevine has it that the Commission has opted to conduct a single phase polling this time. ■

OpenAI Creator Keen To Invest In India
— February 21, 2026

Prasanta Paul | IF Artificial Intelligence is going to dominate the world in the immediate future, India’s massive user base which is second only to the United States, is certain to compel the father of OpenAI creator Sam Altman to intensely exploit the domestic market here. Visibly impacted by the unprecedented growth and potential…
AI Of Army Foiled Confrontation With China
— February 20, 2026

Prasanta Paul | THE June 2020 Indo–China Galwan skirmish at Ladakh is still fresh in our memories; but there is no letup in the aggressive posture of the Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LoC) in the Himalayas. Though the bugle of peace between India and China, two nuclear–armed nations may not be…
Border land Handover | Mamata Govt receives hard wrap from the High Court
— February 18, 2026

Prasanta Paul | THE Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal received a hard wrap from the Calcutta High Court for its failure to hand over to the Border Security Force (BSF) the land acquired by the state authorities for erecting barbed wire fencing across the Indo–Bangladesh international border. In a landmark judgement delivered recently, a…
Verdict In Bangladesh
— February 17, 2026

SUBHRA GUPTA | THE recent poll verdict in Bangladesh has significance embedded in various layers for its immediate neighbours, spanning from the East, West and Southeast Asian regions apart from the international superpowers. After nearly two years of political slugfest targeting India, the verdict betrayed exactly the opposite; the large majority of voters in Bangladesh…
West Bengal | Who Will Toll The Bell For BJP In Birbhum ?
— February 17, 2026

Special Correspondent February 17, 2026 THE chapters in the controversial multi–crore teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal are yet to be closed. Fresh revelations about the complicity between the ruling clique and a senior leader of the Rastriya Sawamsevak Sangh or RSS have started surfacing in Birbhum district. Grapevine has it that one Jayashree Saha,…