Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo on Wednesday became a minister in the West Bengal government, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rejigged her Cabinet in the wake of the cash-for-jobs scam. Apart from 50-year-old Supriyo, four other new faces --  Snehashish Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmik, Udayan Guha and Pradip Majumder -- were inducted into the Cabinet by Mamata. All of them were administered the oath of office this afternoon. The Cabinet reshuffle comes barely a week after Mamata sacked Partha Chatterjee, one of her senior ministers, from the Cabinet as well as from all posts of her ruling Trinamool Congress party following his arrest in the school teachers' recruitment scam. Chatterjee held several portfolios in the state Cabinet, including Commerce and Industry, IT and electronics, and Industrial Reconstruction. He was also the Trinamool Congress party's general secretary. Read:Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo to become minister in Bengal govt? Supriyo joined the Trinamool Congress party in September 2021, two months after he was dropped as a federal minister by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  After joining politics and India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) some eight years ago, he became India's junior Urban Development Minister and Heavy Industries Minister in the Modi government's first tenure. He was the junior Environment Minister in the second term. Born Supriya Baral, he entered Bollywood as a playback singer in the mid-nineties and has sung for many films since then. He has also done playback singing in 11 Indian languages during his musical career.

Speculation is rife that Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo may be made a minister in Bengal government, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rejigs her Cabinet on Monday in the wake of the cash-for-jobs scam. Mamata on Thursday sacked Partha Chatterjee, one of her senior ministers, from her Cabinet as well as from all posts of her ruling Trinamool Congress party, days after he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the school teachers' recruitment scam. Chatterjee held several portfolios in the state Cabinet, including Commerce and Industry, IT and electronics, and Industrial Reconstruction. He was also the Trinamool Congress party's general secretary. Read: Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo joins Mamata's party "Supriyo and two other new faces are likely to be inducted as ministers into the Cabinet by Mamata later in the day. A few serving Ministers may be axed too. Mamata may also keep some portfolios with her," sources close to the ruling party told UNB. Supriyo joined the Trinamool Congress party in September 2021, two months after he was dropped as a federal minister by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  The 50-year-old joined politics and India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) some eight years ago. He served as junior Urban Development Minister and Minister of State for Heavy Industries in BJP government's first tenure. He was the junior Environment and Forest Minister in the second term. Born Supriya Baral, he entered Bollywood as a playback singer in the mid-nineties and has sung for many films since then. He has also done playback singing in 11 Indian languages during his musical career.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is all set to win the crucial Bengal bypoll, with Sunday morning trends showing she is well ahead of her main rival from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The 66-year-old firebrand woman politician is leading by more than 30,000 votes in the by-election for the assembly constituency of Bhawanipur in state capital Kolkata, the Election Commission of India has said. Read: Crucial bypoll begins in Bengal to decide Mamata's fate In Bhawanipur, Mamata has to pull off a win to continue as Bengal Chief Minister. BJP has pitted a little-known woman lawyer against Mamata. Though her ruling Trinamool Congress party swept back to power in Bengal in April-May assembly polls, Mamata lost her own seat in Nandigram to her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by nearly 2,000 votes.  India's main opposition Congress, on the other hand, did not fielded any candidate against Mamata. The party's decision was announced by West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury earlier last month. On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP. Read: Mamata to kickstart campaign for Bengal bypoll today In June this year, Mamata moved the high court to declare Suvendu's election win "null and void' on the grounds that he had indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion.  Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state polls. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool rule.

The most high-profile bypoll in India is currently underway in the eastern state of West Bengal's capital Kolkata amid tight security and Covid-safety protocols. Voting began at 7 am on Thursday for the by-election to the Bhawanipur seat in south Kolkata, where Bengal's firebrand Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting to retain her constitutional position. Read: Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo joins Mamata's party The by-elections to two more seats in Bengal -- Jangipur and Samserganj in Murshidabad district -- are also underway. Nearly seven lakh people are eligible to cast their ballots in the three constituencies. The results will be out on October 3. In Bhawanipur, 66-year-old Mamata has to pull off a win to continue as Bengal CM.  India's ruling and Bengal's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pitted a little-known woman lawyer against Mamata. Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power in Bengal in May's assembly polls, Mamata lost her own seat in Nandigram to her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by around 2,000 votes.  Mamata has, however, challenged Suvendu's election in the Kolkata high court. Read: Mamata to kickstart campaign for Bengal bypoll today India's main opposition Congress, on the other hand, has not fielded any candidate against Mamata. The party's decision was announced by West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury earlier this month. On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In June, Mamata moved the high court to declare Suvendu's election win "null and void' on the grounds that he had indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion.  "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read. Read: Mamata slams Modi govt as nephew summoned over coal scam In her petition, Mamata also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, Mamata's lawyer had said. West Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool rule.

A mega Cabinet expansion is on the cards of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government ahead of next year's crucial assembly polls in five Indian states and the 2024 general election. Though there has been no official word on the possible Cabinet rejig, UNB has learnt that as many as 28 new faces, including a few from West Bengal, could be inducted into the Council of Ministers this month. Read: Twin blasts rock Indian Air Force base in first-ever drone attack Modi's Cabinet currently has 53 Ministers. This would be the first Cabinet expansion since his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept back to power in 2019 general election, decimating the opposition Congress. In fact, the names of at least three BJP leaders from the eastern state of Bengal -- Jagannath Sarkar, Shantanu Thakur and N Pramanik -- are doing the rounds. Bengal shares its border with Bangladesh. Modi's nationalist party lost badly to firebrand Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in April-May's polls in Bengal. Mamata bucked anti-incumbency to pull off a landslide victory in the polls. Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state polls. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development". Read:Two back-to-back blasts rock Indian Air Force station UNB has also learnt that former Congress lawmaker Jyotiraditya Scindia and former Chief Minister of northeastern state of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, are likely to be part of the Cabinet expansion. Scindia, who served as a minister in the previous Congress-led federal government,defected to the BJP last year and helped the saffron outfit reclaim its bastion in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.  Sonowal, on the other hand, made way for his deputy Himanta Biswa Sarma as Assam Chief Minister after the BJP swept to power for the second time in a row in the recently concluded assembly polls in the state. Others who could be part of the Cabinet rejig are former deputy chief minister of the eastern Indian state of Bihar, Sushil Modi, and former chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra, Narayan Rane. Read: India cuts Middle East oil imports as it seeks to diversify energy sources Nine serving Ministers in the Modi Cabinet, including Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani, who currently hold additional portfolios, may have to relinquish the extra ministries to make way for the new faces, sources said. "Five Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh in the north, are to go to polls next year. It's said that the party which wins Uttar Pradesh gets India. This is because the state has 80 parliamentary seats," said Rama Sharma, a Delhi-based political analyst.

In a major jolt to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal, a senior leader of the saffron outfit quit on Friday only to return to the eastern state's ruling Trinamool Congress that he co-founded with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 1998. Mukul Roy, the BJP's first import from Mamata's Trinamool Congress in Bengal, was re-inducted into the regional party, along with son Shubhranshu, in the presence of Mamata at a ceremony in state capital Kolkata. "Mukul has returned home. He was never a traitor like the others. More will come back," Mamata said, welcoming back her former party colleague. Read: Bengal's ruling party makes Mamata's nephew second-in-command Addressing the media at the Trinamool Congress headquarters, 67-year-old Mukul said, "I feel great at seeing my old colleagues, after leaving the BJP. I can't be in the BJP. Mamata is the only leader of Bengal and India."In fact, speculation was rife about Mukul's possible return to the Trinamool Congress after Mamata's nephew and the party's second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee last week visited the politician at the hospital where his wife was undergoing treatment. The very next day, Prime Minister Modi called Mukul up and enquired about his wife's health. Mukul briefly served as India's Railway Minister in 2012, when Mamata's Trinamool Congress was part of then Congress-led ruling United Progressive Alliance government, which was decimated by Modi's BJP two years later. He left the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP in 2017. Read: India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet Mukul's departure from the BJP is a huge setback for the saffron outfit after its humiliating defeat in April-May's assembly polls in West Bengal. Mamata single handedly pulled off an astounding victory in the election, defying anti-incumbency and staving off a huge challenge from the BJP. Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes. "This win has saved Bengal, it has saved our culture and tradition," she said on the counting day. Read: Game over: How an injured Mamata won against a fully fit saffron squad The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 77 seats. In 2016, the party had just three legislators in the state. However, the Left Front has failed to grab a single seat this time. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years -- from 1977 to 2011. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule. Top BJP leaders, including PM Modi, spearheaded the election campaign in Bengal.  

Indian state of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Saturday elevated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek to the party's second-highest post, putting an end to speculation over the future role of her heir apparent. Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee was made the General Secretary at the regional party's first organisational meet since it swept back to power in the last month's assembly elections in the state. This was announced by the Trinamool Congress in a statement to the media. The 33-year-old youth leader joined politics as a member of the Trinamool Congress in 2011 after the party decimated the Left Front, a coalition of Communist parties, that ruled Bengal for 34 years. This year, Abhishek was instrumental in hiring poll strategist Prashant Kishor. Also read: India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet Last month, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP. Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes. "This is Bangla's win... this is Bengal's win... this is your win. This win has saved Bengal, it has saved the culture and tradition of Bengal," she said, addressing a press meet on the counting day. Also read: Game over: How an injured Mamata won against a fully fit saffron squad Mamata had, however, made it clear in that presser only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "How come the Election Commission reversed the results in Nandigram after formally announcing it? We will move court." The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 77 seats. In 2016, the party had just three legislators in the state. However, the Left Front has failed to grab a single seat this time. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years -- from 1977 to 2011. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.