Month: July 2013

Trinamool Congress may win 30 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 in the State

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The panchayat election verdict comes across as a highly significant indicator, favouring of the Trinamool Congress Government in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Expert analysis says that the panchayat poll results reflect that Trinamool Congress may win 30 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 in the State. The Left might prove to be a strong contender for 8-9 seats, whereas for the Congress holds a chance of no more than 3-4 seats. 
According to Trinamool leadership’s predictions of the 3 tier panchayat election 2013, AITMC would win 13 districts, Left and Congress were to get 1 each and in the rest 2, a coalition was expected. This prediction came out to be absolutely accurate compared to the CPM and the Congress forecast that did not see AITMC winning in more than 8-9 districts. The ground reality has triggered shock waves across the opposition parties, and has provided the Maa, Mati, Manush Govt. all the reasons to rejoice.
AITMC Chairpersons Ms Mamata Banerjee called upon a meeting with the AITMC MPs yesterday itself and instructed them to devote more time to their respective constituencies. She discussed the forthcoming Lok Sabha election and recommended that it be held in the winters. Moreover she underlined that there is no scope for repose, in fact, an immediate evaluation has to be made to analyze why AITMC has not fared well in some constituencies. More work has to be done in those places to win over people’s heart.
Trinamool Congress has essentially gained a sweeping victory in South Bengal which was a strong hold of the Left. In West Medinipur, CPM had 56 Zilla Parishad seats in 2008 whereas in 2013 AITMC captured 54.  In Bankura the Left did not get any seat out of 43 Zilla Parishad seats whereas AITMC has occupied 41 seats. In Purulia the Left previously captured 30 seats whereas AITMC has captured 31. Similarly in Hoogly, Howrah, Bardhaman, North 24 Pargana the picture has turned in favour of the AITMC.
Not only South, even North Bengal almost entirely belongs to the AITMC. In Cooch Behar where the CMP held 27 seats out of 29, AITMC has captured 27 out of 33 this time. In South Dinajpur AITMC have 13 seats out of 17 where CPM previously had all and congress had 1. In Maldah and North Dinajpur too AITMC played an important role in the formation of the Zilla Parishad. The Congress Union Minister from Raiganj will be unable to win without a coalition with the AITMC.
The people’s verdict has shunned all critiques and has added another feather in the cap of the Maa, Mati, Manush Government.

Whoever is trying to play political games on Darjeeling will not succeed

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“ West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee, Urban Development Minister Firad Hakim, Youth Affairs Minister Aroop Biswas, and Ministers of various Departments, are all heading for Mumbai, the financial capital of India, for an industrial meet on August 1st. Our approach in the meeting will be to attract investment into the State“, said West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee at a press conference in Writers` Buildings.
Shifting to the resignation issue of Bimal Gurung, Chief Executive Officer of GTA, Ms Banerjee said, “We have accepted the resignation. It is his liberty and democratic right to resign, but we will not break and dissolute the tripartite agreement between the Govt. of India, West Bengal Govt. and GJM. Law will take its course. We love Darjeeling, it is an integral part of West Bengal. We want peace in Darjeeling. We will uphold our commitment and work for the development of the district like we have already started. There has been water projects, road projects, drinking water projects, power plant projects, pipeline projects, helicopter services, universities already in the district. I will take all steps to maintain peace. If required we will take strict steps. I will protect the security of the hill people. Darjeeling`s brothers and sisters are our brothers and sisters, we were united, we are united, and we will be united. It is easy to break but difficult to make. “
She held some Central Ministers responsible for instigating the current situation at the Hills, she said, “ I am sorry to say, some Central Ministers had called the GJM leadership to Delhi and promised them a separate Gorkhaland so as to make it a Union territory. But this is not a child`s play. It is not so easy. Whoever is trying to play political games on Darjeeling will not succeed. Politics should be in its place and Governance has its own place. No one can order all business to stop in the hills, no one can ask the tourists and students to leave the hills. This is not right and this should not happen. I have written a letter to the Prime Minister as the Center must also play a role in protecting the interest of the Hills. “
She expressed immense dissatisfaction at the ongoing turn of events in the country, she said, “ When people bearing responsibilities behave in an irresponsible manner it is most unfortunate for the country. Telengana issue is being raised again after 5 years, when the election is knocking at the door. Why so? Just in expectation of gaining a few seats Congress wants to break `Bharat` in to pieces. This should not be encouraged. It is not possible to give in to such demands. I condemn this attitude, I am shocked, and for political purpose our constitutional obligation should not be jeopardized. “

This is the victory of the people. I dedicate this victory to the people of Bengal – Mamata Banerjee

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Mamata Banerjee`s Facebook Post


Panchayat Election results are almost out. The mandate of the people is overwhelmingly in our favour.

This time, we have fought it all alone with the help, blessings and dua from Maa-Maati-Manush and the people of Gram-Bangla. 

The Congress, CPM and BJP ` all worked mostly together. But the results have proved again that the mandate of Maa-Maati-Manush has clearly been on our side and helped us to pass the `agnipariksha` of people`s confidence and trust.

I am very happy to see that the people of Jangalmahal have blessed us. We have received 100% mandate.

Trinamool Congress has literally wiped out the Left in almost all their strong bastions in Burdwan, Birbhum, Paschim Midnapore, Purba Midnapur, Coochbihar, Hooghly, Bankura, Purulia, Dakshin Dinajpur.

Out of 17 Zilla Parishads, Trinamool Congress alone has clearly swept 13 Zilla Parishads. 2 others are hung, where we are in a position of advantage. One each has gone to the Left and Congress. 

Today, I bow my head again to my Maa-Maati-Manush and democracy.

Election is a festival of democracy.

This time, highest number of 1,97,428 persons filed nominations for the 3-tier elections as compared to 1,40,975 in 2008 elections. For the first time, we reserved 50% seats for women. 

I congratulate my sisters, brothers, elders and youngsters for their sustained support. This month is the holy month of Ramazan. I know how difficult it has been for them to come out to cast their votes during fasting. 

I am grateful to people belonging to all religions, caste and creed for reposing their faith on us and inspiring confidence to continue the agenda of development and growth of Bengal. 

Against all odds and against all sorts of conspiracy, negativism, false criticism, misinformation and machinations perpetrated by different political parties, central agencies, and other bodies, we could finally emerge with flying colours due to the massive mandate of the people.

This is the victory of the people. I dedicate this victory to the people of Bengal.

The results show that it is the victory of the people and democracy – Mamata Banerjee on Panchayat Polls results

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West Bengal Chief Minister and AITMC Chairperson Mamata Banerjee hailed the results of the just-concluded panchayat poll, declared so far, as a “victory of the people and democracy”.

“The results show that it is the victory of the people and democracy. It is also a victory of the `Maa-Mati-Manush`.

People have voted at a difficult time of heat, rains and the ongoing Ramzan. We should respect the verdict and behave in a peaceful manner,” she told at the Writers` Bldgs.

She said that Trinamool Congress had registered an increase in the percentage of votes compared to the percentage of votes it had secured in the last Assembly election.

The CPI-M has failed to keep its dominance in its strongholds like Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts and the AITMC has performed well there, she pointed out.

She said that the CPI(M), BJP and the Congress had formed an unofficial alliance to fight the Trinamool Congress. “We have fought on our own for the first time with the help of the people who are with us.”

She predicted that the AITMC would garner approximately 75 per cent of the votes and that the party would win in 13 districts.

In the two districts of North Dinajpur and Malda, the outcome would be hung where AITMC would play the balancing factor, while in Jangalmahal, out of 290 gram panchayats, AITMC would bag 275, the Chief Minister predicted.

She said that a few constitutional bodies had acted against the government, but added she had respect for those entities. “Some had also campaigned against the party overseas”, she claimed.

She said that the she would dedicate the victory to the people of rural Bengal formally on August 21, which would be observed as Martyr's Day by the party this year instead of the traditional July 21.

Delhi is insisting to disrupt peaceful situation in Darjeeling – Mamata Banerjee

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Mamata Banerjee`s Facebook Post
I do not understand why Union Government is behaving in a partisan manner by calling 3-4 persons of GTA to Delhi. The call has come from the highest office of a political party. When Darjeeling is peaceful and according to tripartite agreement (of which Union Government is a party) election was held and GTA was formed, and development process is underway, why Delhi is making efforts to kick start fresh agitation to serve vested political interest. It is a matter of shame.
Before last Lok Sabha elections, Telengana was announced by a political party. Why it is now being brought out as an issue just before Lok Sabha election? Telengana cannot be compared with Darjeeling. When everything is settled, why Delhi is insisting to disrupt peaceful situation and play with fire? It is reported that Delhi has directed the GTA persons to go in for a separatist movement.
Darjeeling is a part and parcel of our state. We are united and we will remain united. Any conspiracy hatched by a political party and Union Government will be defeated by the people of Darjeeling and West Bengal.
I'm proud of Darjeeling. Lakhs of tourists are visiting Darjeeling and the tour operators and hotels are flourishing in business with a growth in economy. Darjeeling is smiling. Let me repeat again that we love Darjeeling. We love West Bengal and we love our country. We will not allow anybody to divide and rule.

The fifth and last phase of the West Bengal Panchayat polls were held peacefully

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The fifth and the last phase of the West Bengal panchayat polls passed peacefully on 25th July, Thursday at 4 districts of Bengal, namely South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. 
In South Dinajpur district the district magistrate, Mr D D Goswami said that 78 per cent of the votes were polled till 5 p.m. “However, polling still continues at some booths, especially in the Hili border area and in Harirampur block,“ he said.  Long queues were seen at numerous booths in all the eight blocks of the district – Balurghat, Gangarampur, Bangshihari, Tapan, Kushmandi, Hili, Harirampur and Kumarganj.  Four companies of CRPF had been deployed in the district for ensuring peace during the polls for 18 zilla parishad, 190 panchayat samiti and 1,002 gram panchayat seats in the district.
Rural poll in Cooch Behar district was held peacefully. Voters` turnout was recorded over 72 per cent till 5 p.m. The district magistrate, Mr Mohan Gandhi, said “voters` turn out might increase from 72 per cent because there were still long queues of voters in many polling stations till 7.30 p.m. “ According to Mr Mohan Gandhi, 50 per cent of 17 company Central forces were deployed in polling stations and the rest of them were deployed in sector offices to maintain law and order.
Panchayat polls in Jalpaiguri district was peaceful and over 70 per cent people cast their votes up to 5 p.m. today. The district magistrate, Ms Smaraki Mahapatra, said: “Voters` turn-out was recorded at 70 per cent at 5 p.m. and the percentage of polling would cross 80 per cent because still there are long queues in several polling stations in this district.“ A total of 16 companies of Central forces were allotted. The district administration deployed Central forces in multiple polling stations. The rest of the Central forces were deployed in sector offices and other places to maintain law and order. The district magistrate, Ms Mahapatra, said polling would continue till midnight. Central forces were deployed in many areas so that polling personnel return safely with the ballot boxes. 

Chief Minister gives away Chalacchitra Awards at the programme Uttam Kumar Swarane

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Chief Minister gave away Chalacchitra Awards at the programme Uttam Kumar Swarane organized by the State Government on the Death Anniversary of the legendary matinee idol at Nazrul Mancha.

Here are the excerpst from her Facebook post –

Uttam Kumar – the name is ever vibrant in the hearts of millions of Bengali cine lovers across all generations. His charisma is beyond emulation. His personality is all-encompassing. The immortal roles he played transformed him to a living legend, the indisputable greatest-ever actor to dominate the Bengali filmdom.

He was the `Mahanayak` of Tollywood. His towering stature in the film industry poised him like a bridge between Tollywood, Bollywood and Hollywood.

On the 24th of July, 1980, Uttam Kumar passed away, creating an irretrievable void in the hearts of his countless lovers, admirers and followers.

After our Government assumed office, as a mark of our tribute to the legendary Uttam Kumar, 24th July has come to be reckoned as a very special day – the day we honour the great men and women of the cinema world for their outstanding contribution to our lives, society and culture.

Like previous year, this year we have honoured 50 film personalities and entities with a set of prestigious awards, christened after the greatest celebrity of all times in our hearts, the one and only Uttam Kumar.

The awardees are:

For lifetime achievement

Madhabi Mukhopadhyay
Sandhya Roy
Dipankar De
Ranjit Mullick
Goutam Ghosh

Mahanayak Award 2013

Tapas Pal
Prasenjit Chattopadhyay

Special Film Award

Actor/Actress:

Saswata Chatterjee
Mamata Shankar
Laboni Sarkar
Nayana Das
Sudipta Chakrabarti
Ananya Chatterjee
Rachana Banerjee
Swastika Mukherjee
Rajesh Sharma
Parambrata Chatterjee
Deb
Jit
Jishu Sengupta
Soham
Subhasish Mukherjee
Koel Mullick
Suvashri
Srabanti
Raima Sen
Churni Ganguly

Music Director

Suparnokanti Ghosh
Prateek Chowdhury
Indradip Dasgupta
Anupam Roy

Director

Sandip Ray
Koushik Ganguly
Srijit Mukherjee
Sujit Guha
Raj Chakrabarti

Cinematographer

Aveek Mukhopadhyay
Barun Mukherjee

Editor

Arghyakamal Mitra
Rabiranjan Moitra

Art Director

Nitish Roy

Producer

New Theatres Private Limited
Arora Film Corporation Private Ltd.
Sri Venkatesh Films Private Limited
R D Bansal and Company

Sound Recording

Anup Mukherjee
Sushanta Banerjee

Make-up Artist

Anup Ganguly

Special Award

Chinmoy Roy
Partha Mukherjee

At a glittering ceremony in Nazul Mancha today, we gave away these awards to the recipients. A lively cultural program was presented after the award-giving ceremony. Some pictures of the event are uploaded for all of you to see.

Mahanayak still thrills. The legendary hero would be in our hearts in eternal perpetuity.

Bring `paribartan` in the panchayats of Bengal – Mamata Banerjee

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From Jangalmahal to Hills, from Sundarbans to Dooars, from Purulia to Bonga Boarders, the AITMC Chairperson Ms Mamata Banerjee reached all in the one and a half month of extensive and exhaustive panchayat election campaign that finally came to an end on Tuesday at North Bengal. 
She made only one urge to all, “Bring `paribartan` in the panchayats of Bengal. Bring Maa, Mati, Manush in the panchayats of Bengal. “
“Those fighting for area domination using bombs and guns should know that horrendous times are ahead for them. The law will not spare them. Leaders providing incitement with bombs should remember Bengal has no place for miscreants, “ she told at a panchayat election meeting in Falakata at Jalpaiguri district.
“There was no firing and throwing of bombs in the first three phases of polling and the polls were held peacefully, but the congress and CMP had strong hold in the regions of the fourth phase and hence triggered violence.“ She said at the campaign for the fifth and final phase of the polls.
“Why a Central minister moved around several booths in Murshidabad districts along with Central force jawans? This is purely an undemocratic practice, “ Mamata Banerjee told at a Trinamool Congress rally at Mathabhanga under Cooch Behar district on Monday afternoon.
“Whatever is happening…is the fallout of Congress – CPM understanding and the game for capturing panchayats, “ Ms Banerjee alleged.
“If there was a one-day polling, I would not have allowed this to happen. We did not conduct the elections. The elections were conducted by the State Election Commission. Whatever they said, we have accepted,“ Ms. Banerjee said.
“The hills are smiling and so are the plains of Terrai and Dooars. Today there is no bloodshed for a separate state, people are not apprehensive that the state would be divided, “ Ms Banerjee said during a public rally in Jalpaiguri district.
She made it clear that her government would agree to the India-Bangladesh Teesta water sharing treaty only after getting nod for it from the people of north Bengal and never at the cost of the region drying up. “I will agree if people of Cooch Behar give a green signal. Otherwise I won`t. I will agree to it if people of north Bengal want it. I will not allow it to happen at any cost by drying up north Bengal,“ she said at a panchayat election meeting in Cooch Behar district bordering Bangladesh. “Till I am there I will not allow any atrocity committed or deprivation caused to the people of north Bengal, “ Ms.  Banerjee said. 

Mamata Banerjee pays homage to the martyrs of Ekushe July

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Mamata Banerjee`s Facebook post on Ekushe July 

`Today is 21st July.

On this date in 1993, a democratic movement was going on in Bengal with the demand, `no voter ID, no vote`. Police fired indiscriminately on the peaceful demonstrators at Kolkata.

13 people died and more than 100 were injured.

Every year, we commemorate this day as `Sahid Dibas` and hold a large congregation in Kolkata, where people from far-flung villages come to participate.
This year, for the first time, we are unable to hold this commemoration meeting on 21st July due to the ongoing one-month long panchayat election. Tomorrow, the 4th phase of elections will be held for Birbhum, Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda districts.

So we are dedicating 21st August of this year to hold 'Sahid Dibas'.

Today, on this occasion, we remember our colleagues whom we lost and extend our solidarity to all those who laid down their lives towards the cause of democratic movements worldwide.`

`This year, as I have already shared with you, we would be celebrating Sahid Dibas on 21st August. Still I went and laid wreaths to pay our homage to the thirteen valiant souls whom we lost on the fateful day of 21st July, 1993.`

Who is responsible for the deaths in the hands of Central Forces, AITMC State President and MP Subrata Bakshi raises question

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Who will now take responsibility for the deaths caused in Bengal by the Central Forces? Who are these political parties demanding 5-days polls? Who will take responsibility? All India Trinamool Congress State President and MP Subrata Bakshi raise these question of the deployment of Central Forces in the ongoing Panchayat Election. In an exclusive interview to the correspondent of aitmc.org, the party State President added –
  • The Central Forces, who are actually CISF, are deployed to protect industrial areas. People are being killed by their indiscriminate firing during the polls. Every death is sad, but someone must take the responsibility of these deaths.
  • In 2008 Panchayat Elections, the time for polling in Jangalmahal was from 7 am to 3 pm as there was the fear of Maoist attack. In 2013, there has been a festival of democracy in Jangalmahal. When everybody feared that there will be disturbances, not only did the people of Jangalmahal vote with unforeseen enthusiasm, they voted beyond the scheduled hours, 7 am to 5 pm. At many places, polling continued all the night, ending at dawn.
  • The State Government always wanted to go for a one-day or two-day poll since elections in Bengal have always been a high-voltage affair. The Left-Congress-BJP backed by the State Election Commission along with Supreme Court orders prolonged the process in to a month-long affair and by calling in Central Forces.