Breaking news - Mamata Banerjee to contest from Bhawanipore :::: "Bengal will win. 'Dilli ka laddu' will not win..." : Mamata :::: An admission of frustration -- "They could not take away one power. That is the power of the people"

Utter nervousness reflected in her voice - appeals to "non-BJP parties ... please vote for Bangla... Vote for Ma, Mati, Manush"

TMC fields Firhad Hakim in Kolkata Port, Kunal Ghosh in Beleghata, 

Jyotipriyo Mallick in Habra seat. 

Mamata from Bhawanipore 

 West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says, "Before I announce the candidate list, I thank the people of Bengal... I dedicate Maa Maati Manush Banglar Sanskriti to all, and release the candidate list of 294 seats. 

I want to say something to the BJP- why are you afraid? Don't create a gas crisis if you want to fight; come to the ground in a proper way. ECI, you did a brilliant game... 

BJP has no chance. This time your seats will decrease as compared to the last time. This is the fight of Astitva of West Bengal. 

Bengal will win. 'Dilli ka laddu' will not win..."

Resorting to rhetoric drama she says - after polls BJP supporters and workers will put on posters "I am not doing BJP".

--- This may be mild threat of post-poll violence too as was the case in 2021 

"Instead of using agencies, contest polls in a peaceful manner to strengthen the foundations of democracy." 

"This is a fight for the existence of Bengal. Delhi will not win. They have taken all the power from us. They could not take away one power. That is the power of the people."

Among TMC's 291 candidates for West Bengal polls, 52 women, 95 SCs-STs, 47 minorities  

The Election Commission on Tuesday made sweeping changes in Bengal’s police administration through two separate sets of transfer orders affecting 19 IPS officers.

Soon after the announcement of the election schedule for Bengal, the Election Commission has gone on overdrive to “cleanse” the administration; it has ruffled the Trinamool’s feathers.

Ajay Kumar Nand, newly appointed Kolkata Police Commissioner, says, 

"It is indeed a matter of great honour and pride for any police officer who is entrusted with this responsibility of leading a police force like Kolkata Police, which has a glorious history of hundreds of years. 

"But with this also comes a great sense of responsibility towards the city of Kolkata, the people of Kolkata, and importantly, towards the officers and men of Kolkata Police... During elections, our main focus will be to conduct a free, fair and peaceful election, incident-free elections. 

"We are working on it. Meetings are going on, and whatnot logistics are required, we are working on it...". 

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Jayaraman, a 1991-batch IPS officer, was abruptly transferred by Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s government in November 2013, a day after he had ordered the arrest of an IAS officer.

On Tuesday, the commission appointed K. Jayaraman as additional director general and inspector general of police for north Bengal, which will go to polls in the first phase of elections on April 23.

Jayaraman, as Siliguri’s commissioner of police, had ordered the arrest of then Malda district magistrate G. Kiran Kumar on charges of misappropriation of funds during Kumar’s stint at the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA).

In a symbolic protest against Jayaraman’s shunting, five policemen from the commissionerate had tied a rope to the back of his SUV, asked the driver to put the vehicle on neutral mode and pulled it back for a minute.

Six months later, Jayaraman was appointed as deputy inspector general (modernisation).

Before the Election Commission stepped in, he was posted as administrator at the Forensic Science Laboratory.

Chandrima Bhattacharya fielded from the Dum Dum Uttar seat, 

Madan Mitra from Kamarhati seat, 

Shashi Panja from the Shyampukur seat