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Aparna Bhattacharya

Aparna Bhattacharya

The Wire

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In Bengal, Tribunal Remedy Has Been Slowest Where the SIR Has Affected Muslim Voters the Most

Listen to this article: This is the third of a series on how the adjudication process of the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal continues in...

previous day 10

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Delhi SIR: Who Are the 47.56 Lakh People Knocked Out From the Draft Roll?

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Before the third phase of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, Delhi had...

thursday 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Men Wearing Saffron Throw Paint at Anandabazar Patrika Office; HC Declines Urgent Relief to Journalists

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Men wearing saffron scarves gathered outside the Anandabazar Patrika office in Kolkata around noon on Tuesday...

02.09.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Election Commission’s Data on Bengal SIR Appeals Is Designed to Confuse. Here’s How.

Listen to this article: Kolkata: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s electoral roll marked “27,16,393 people as not eligible”...

01.09.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

SIR: Six West Bengal Constituencies ‘Restored’ More Voters Than They Removed

Listen to this article: This is the second in a series of articles on the tribunal hearings on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in...

31.08.2026 80

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

'Reeks of Vindictiveness': Press Body Demands Withdrawal of FIR Against Anandabazar Patrika Journalists

Listen to this article: Kolkata: The Federation of Press Clubs has demanded that the West Bengal government withdraw the criminal case registered...

30.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

On CM Suvendu Adhikari's Instructions, Kolkata Police Register Suo Motu FIR Against Mamata Banerjee

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Kolkata Police on Saturday (August 29) registered a case against former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee...

30.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

‘Not Threatening the Media’, Says Bengal CM As Police Lodge FIR Against Anandabazar Journalists

Listen to this article: Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari demanded at a rally in Jadavpur on Friday (August 28) that the...

29.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Days After BJP Warning, Police Complaint Seeks FIR Against Anandabazar Editors

Kolkata: A complaint asking police to register an FIR against the editorial team of Anandabazar Patrika, including two named journalists, was received...

29.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

West Bengal SIR Tribunals Were Meant for Voter Restoration. But 31 Lakh of 38 Lakh Appeals Asked for Deletion.

Listen to this article: This is the first in a series of articles on the tribunal hearings on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in...

28.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

RTI Reveals Bengal Tribunal Decided on Just 2.17% SIR Appeals; Over 37 Lakh Still in Limbo

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Mohd Dual Ali, a resident of Bhagwangola in Murshidabad, West Bengal, served in the Indian Army and was hit by...

25.08.2026 40

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Amit Shah Gives Darjeeling Another Committee to Find 'Permanent Political Solution'. It Has Heard This Promise Before

Listen to this article: Sukna is where the plains give out. The road from Siliguri runs flat and hot through tea gardens and then, quite suddenly,...

24.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Why the Saffron Camp Keeps Misreading Jadavpur University

The students and alumni who marched at Jadavpur on Friday (August 21) carried a long strip of painted cloth between them, and what was written on it...

23.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Interview | Abdul Hafiz on CJP, His Grandmother, and His Father Being Killed Because He Asked to Inspect a School

Listen to this article: Sheikh Abdul Hafiz is 25 years old. On August 13, as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) “School Thik Karo (fix the...

19.08.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

BJP Leader Among Eight Arrested for Killing Bengal CJP Activist's Father Over Son's Inspection Visit to School

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Sheikh Abdul Hafiz had walked into a local village primary school and asked a few simple questions on whether the...

17.08.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

A Tale of Three TMC MPs and the Voters They Left Behind

13.08.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Suvendu Adhikari Has Tried to Connect the Census to the SIR. His Move Is Dangerous and Illegal

Listen to this article: When Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari launched the self-enumeration phase of Census 2027 in West Bengal on August 1, he...

07.08.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Tribal Landowners Deprived of Rs 3.5 Crores by Bengal TMC Govt: CAG Audit Shows Devaluation Helped Coal Scam-Linked Firm

Listen to this article: Kolkata: A Performance Audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), covering FY 2017-18 to 2021-22, has found...

31.07.2026 20

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Outfit Which Conducted Hindu Rituals Outside ASI-Protected Adina Mosque Says Efforts to 'Claim' it Will Intensify

Kolkata: An increasingly confrontational campaign has gathered momentum around the 14th-century Adina Mosque in West Bengal’s Malda district, as...

30.07.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

'Those Friday People': Questions Over Who Started Kolkata Protest Violence as Suvendu Targets Muslims

Listen to this article: Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari invoked the religion-coded expression “Friday people” while...

26.07.2026 40

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Good Egg, Bad Opposition: The Complex Rules of Bengal's Dim-ocracy

West Bengal has finally resolved the oldest philosophical problem in politics by defining the boundary between good and bad. Plato, Aristotle and...

10.07.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

BJP Celebrates but Questions Abound as Key Accused of Bengal Minor's Rape and Murder Is Killed in Encounter

Listen to this article: Kolkata: In the early hours of July 8, Prabhas Mondal, one of the key accused in the rape and murder case of an 11-year-old in...

08.07.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

The TMC Doesn't End With Mamata Banerjee's Removal as Party Chair, But Its Unified Command Does

Listen to this article: For nearly three decades, Mamata Banerjee has been the undisputed face, voice, and absolute authority of the Trinamool...

23.06.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

A Rebel LoP, a Rogue Treasurer and a 'Letter from Messi's Team' Deepen Mamata Banerjee's Woes

Listen to this article: Kolkata: June 18 was a day of political jolts for Mamata Banerjee, beleaguered chief of the Trinamool Congress. The Calcutta...

19.06.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

NIA Conducts Searches at Premises Linked to Bengal Rights Activists Who Had Been Vocal Against SIR

Listen to this article: Kolkata: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took up almost simultaneous searches at the premises associated with three...

18.06.2026 30

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

First MLAs, Now MPs: Here’s What Has Cost Mamata Banerjee Her Party

On June 9, compounding her significant woes, police arrived at Mamata Banerjee’s house in connection with a case filed against her over the forgery...

09.06.2026 40

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Ritabrata Banerjee’s Hostile Capture of Trinamool Congress Strengthens BJP

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Ritabrata Banerjee, a newly elected MLA, has laid claim to the legislative identity of the All India Trinamool...

03.06.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

A Key Bengal BJP Govt Scheme Has a 10-Page Application Form. Here's Why it is Leading to Fears of Disenfranchisement

Kolkata: Across India, cash-transfer schemes for women have become one of the most powerful instruments of electoral politics and social welfare....

01.06.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

A Key Bengal BJP Govt Scheme Has a 10-Page Application Form. Here's Why it is Leading to Fears of Disenfranchisement

Kolkata: Across India, cash-transfer schemes for women have become one of the most powerful instruments of electoral politics and social welfare....

01.06.2026 70

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

From Falta to Key Defections, TMC's Campaign Corporation Structure Falters in Opposition

Listen to this article: On May 24, the vote count in Falta where the Election Commission had ordered a repoll, served as a postmortem of the Trinamool...

26.05.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

As Falta Votes in Bypoll, We Are Witnessing the Fall of Abhishek Banerjee's 'Diamond Harbour Model'

Listen to this article: Kolkata: As polling gets underway in Falta today, Bengal watches as an assembly constituency completes an interrupted...

21.05.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Kolkata Man, Stabbed at BJP Victory Rally, Succumbs to Injuries

Listen to this article: Kolkata: A 21-year-old man in Kolkata died on May 18, nearly two weeks after he was allegedly stabbed during a Bharatiya...

19.05.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

BJP Takes Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari Sworn in as First Saffron Chief Minister

Kolkata: Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in on Saturday (May 9) as West Bengal’s first BJP chief minister, marking a dramatic rupture in the state’s...

09.05.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

How BJP Used Bengal's Communal Violence to Its Advantage in the 2026 Polls

Listen to this article: Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2026 breakthrough in West Bengal was not simply an anti-incumbency wave. Coupled with...

08.05.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Data Shows SIR Helped BJP Win Bengal

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Electoral outcomes in fiercely contested regions are often decided by razor-thin margins, where every vote counts. In...

06.05.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Data Shows SIR Ensured BJP Won Bengal

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Electoral outcomes in fiercely contested regions are often decided by razor-thin margins, where every vote counts. In...

06.05.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

BJP’s West Bengal Sweep Was Broad, But the Numbers Reveal a More Complicated Story

Listen to this article: Kolkata: The West Bengal result numbers point to a decisive BJP victory, with the party winning 206 seats and establishing a...

05.05.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

BJP Poised to End TMC’s 15-Year Reign as Key Bastions Crumble

Listen to this article: Kolkata: In what is shaping up to be one of the most seismic political earthquakes in recent Indian history, the Bharatiya...

04.05.2026 40

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

On Polling Day, It's Time to Recognise Bengal's Lack of Muslim Representation

Listen to this article: Bengal’s second and final phase of polling is today and it is undeniable that a striking demographic paradox has taken shape...

29.04.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

99.59% Restored, 12.86 Lakh Abandoned: The Cruel Arithmetic of the SIR Tribunal in Bengal

Listen to this article: Firoza Bibi Mondal asked to check whether her name was included in the supplementary list published by the electoral tribunal....

28.04.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

The Politics of Misogyny Will Always Be Obscene

Listen to this article: If you want to understand the true cost of being a woman in Indian politics, do not look at the manifestos, the parliamentary...

28.04.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Less Than 0.01% Get Relief: Bengal’s Appellate Tribunal Reduces the Right to Vote to a Bureaucratic Favour

Listen to this article: In West Bengal, the appellate tribunal that was supposed to act as a safeguard for wrongly excluded voters has instead come to...

23.04.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Morning Sees High Turnout in Bengal, Voting Largely Peaceful Despite Scattered Flashpoints

Listen to this article: Kolkata: West Bengal’s Phase 1 polling gathered strong momentum through the morning, with overall turnout rising to 41.11%...

23.04.2026 40

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

In Samserganj, SIR Exclusions Have Altered the Electoral Field Even Before Votes Are Cast

Listen to this article: Kolkata: Last year, Samserganj in Murshidabad’s border belt made national headlines after communal tension over the Waqf...

22.04.2026 70

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

What the Voter Purges in Three Constituencies Reveals About West Bengal's SIR

Listen to this article: A granular analysis of deleted voter rolls in three West Bengal constituencies suggests that what is being presented as...

20.04.2026 50

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

SC Opens Door for Excluded Voters in Bengal, but Tribunal Bottleneck Clouds Relief

Listen to this article: Kolkata: The Supreme Court has finally given limited but significant relief to voters who were “under adjudication” in the...

17.04.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Nearly 89 Lakh Names Removed: Five Takeaways on the Bengal SIR's Brutal Math

Listen to this article: Kolkata: At the stroke of midnight on April 6, the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) publication of the 12th and final...

07.04.2026 90

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

What a 'Glitch' Says About the Bengal SIR Crisis

Listen to this article: Late evening (March 24), a fragile sense of security was shattered for seven crore electors in West Bengal. These were the...

25.03.2026 70

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Special Integrated Removal: Data Shows Large-Scale Deletion of Women and Minorities in West Bengal SIR

Listen to this article: Kolkata: At the stroke of midnight on March 23, 2026, the Election Commission of India (ECI) released its first supplementary...

24.03.2026 90

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya

Two Phases, Uneven Revisions: Decoding the Data Behind Bengal’s 2026 Poll Battle

Listen to this article: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has set the stage for a fiercely contested 2026 West Bengal Assembly election. Hours...

16.03.2026 60

The Wire

Aparna Bhattacharya