Latest news with #JohnBarla
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Ahead of 2026 Assembly polls, CM Mamata going on a 3-day visit to North Bengal; TMC expects more Oppn leaders to join party
To bolster Trinamool Congress's (TMC) influence in North Bengal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be on a three-day visit to the region from May 19, especially when the 2026 Assembly election is barely a few months away. Days before her visit, the party camp received a shot in the arm as former Union Minister of State and BJP MP John Barla switched over to TMC on May 15. The party workers have an inkling that the CM's visit to North Bengal will influence more Opposition leaders to TMC and thereby strengthen their base in a fairly weaker front in North Bengal. Banerjee has already announced that on Monday, she will attend a 'synergy' business conference and on Tuesday, a government distribution programme at Odlabari. The main programme of the Chief Minister is on Wednesday, where she will participate in an administrative review meeting at Uttar Kanya, where officials of all district administrations will participate. District officials of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Coochbehar will attend the meeting physically, while officials of Maldah, Uttar Dinajpur, and Dakshin Dinajpur will attend the meeting virtually. 'After this year's Durga Puja, the state will enter the election mode. So, we have four to five months to complete all the development work. The Chief Minister wants to review all these works and set a timeline to complete all the projects properly,' a senior officer of state administration said. On the other hand, the party leadership expects Banerjee to give necessary advice to the district leadership ahead of the Assembly election. A senior TMC leader expressed optimism in improving their result in North Bengal. 'Not only John Barla, another BJP MLA, Suman Kanjilal joined our team, which has also strengthened our organisation. We are expecting more BJP MLAs and leaders to join our party, and we will knock down the footings of the BJP in North Bengal. This time the BJP may gain in South Bengal, but they will lose in North Bengal.' Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Indian Express
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Raring to make a comeback in north Bengal, its Achilles heel, TMC brings in a former BJP MP: Who is John Barla?
In its decade-plus time governing West Bengal, if there is a region that has been the Trinamool Congress's ITMC) spot of weakness, it is North Bengal. After getting swept in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the party made a modicum of comeback in the region in the 2021 Assembly polls and the parliamentary elections last year. The TMC's chances in north Bengal received a shot in the arm on Thursday, a year before the battle for Bengal, after former BJP MP from Alipurduars John Barla joined the party at an event in Kolkata. 'If development work for the people is stopped by the party itself, why should I continue in it?' Barla, a former Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, asked after joining the party. 'When I became a Union minister, I faced roadblocks every time I tried to work for the people. The party leadership repeatedly stopped me.' Barla said he wanted to build a Rs 160 crore hospital and all the formalities, including identification of land for the purpose, were completed. 'We just had to sign the MoU, but the present Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, got it blocked. A call went from here to Delhi, and the project was shelved.' Acknowledging that tea garden workers and the tribal population in the Dooars region had backed the BJP, Barla wondered what they received in return. 'I want to thank Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for giving me a platform where I can actually work for people. I spoke to her a few months ago, and she asked me to come forward and serve the people, which is why I am joining the TMC,' he said. With Barla in its ranks, the TMC will be expected to consolidate its position in the region's tea gardens. Born in a tribal family in the Lakhipara tea garden estate in Jalpaiguri, the 49-year-old started his political career as a representative of tea garden workers in the Dooars region, joining the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad in 2007. As his popularity rose, Barla moved to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) just as it was gaining ground in its agitation for a separate state of Gorkhaland. However, his time in the Darjeeling Hill-based party was cut short after he faced off against GJM chief Bimal Gurung in 2010 over his demand for a separate state for tribals and other backward communities in the Terai and Dooars regions. Barla's political rise was down to his formidable support base among tea garden workers in north Bengal. His organisational skills drew the attention of the Left Front, which was in power at the time, and Barla and his supporters often backed it several times. By 2011, when the TMC ended three decades of Left rule, Barla came close to the Mamata Banerjee-led party but never officially joined it. The BJP, whose rise in the state began following the 2016 Assembly elections, found in Barla a leader who could help it establish its hold on the region. And before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the leader of tea garden workers in the Dooars joined the BJP. He made it big, winning from the Scheduled Tribe-reserved Alipurduars constituency and became a Union MoS. As the TMC stormed back to power in 2021, several BJP leaders in north Bengal, including Barla, sensed a shift and attempted to counter the ruling party by raising the demand for the region to be granted Union Territory status. This, however, put the BJP on a sticky wicket, and the party was forced to distance itself from Barla and these leaders. In the Lok Sabha elections last year, the party dropped Barla and instead fielded Manoj Tigga from Alipurduars. Forsaking @BJP4India's politics of deprivation and embracing Smt. @MamataOfficial's politics of development, Shri @johnbarlabjp joined the Trinamool Congress family. He revealed how every effort he made for his constituents was met with resistance from within his own party. He… — All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 15, 2025 This is when the TMC is believed to have established contact with the disgruntled leader, hoping that having him on its side will help it break the BJP's hold over the tea gardens. 'Barla was in contact with our party after the Lok Sabha elections. He helped us in the Madarihat Assembly bypoll. We won the seat for the first time,' said a senior TMC leader in north Bengal. However, his switch to the party was not a given, and till even last week, BJP leaders were in touch with the former MP and had visited him at his home to convince him to stay. However, Barla, it is said, had made up his mind. 'We lost all the Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in 2019. In 2021, we recovered some ground, but our position was still vulnerable. With Barla on our side, we stand a great chance among the Adivasis and in the tea gardens,' said a party leader. The TMC had managed to shrug off its poor show of 2019 by winning 23 of the 54 Assembly seats in the region — its tally later went up to 26 after bypoll wins and Alipurduars MLA Suman Kanjilal also joined it — while the BJP won the rest. This improvement did not reflect in the TMC's performance in the Lok Sabha polls, however, as the party managed to win only Coochbehar by unseating Nisith Pramanik. The TMC has its task cut out in North Bengal, especially in the tea gardens, as the Mamata Banerjee government's decision to divert 30% of tea garden land for commercial purposes on a freehold basis rather than leasehold has not gone down well with locals and political organisations representing tea garden workers. This is where Barla will be expected to help the party mitigate any political damage. 'Mamata Banerjee will use him in our state committee, and he will also be given organisational responsibility of the tea gardens. He increases our organisational strength in the tea belt,' said TMC state president Subrata Bakshi. Hitting out at his former party colleague, Suvendu Adhikari said, 'The former MP is talking as per the script the TMC's strategists have prepared. In the last year, he kept talking to the ruling party even as he remained in touch with me over the phone. It is not my responsibility to answer his allegations.' Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Former Union min Barla joins TMC, slams Suvendu for ‘obstruction' bids
Kolkata: Former junior Union minority affairs minister John Barla on Thursday quit BJP to join Trinamool Congress . The north Bengal neta attacked Bengal leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari for obstructing his work for the benefit of the region, including setting up a 1,000-bed hospital. Barla had distanced himself from BJP after he was denied a ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha. He had joined BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and won the Alipurduar LS seat. He was rewarded with a ministerial berth shortly after the 2021 assembly polls. Barla, flanked by TMC state president Subrata Bakshi and state power minister Aroop Biswas, told reporters on Thursday: "I am joining TMC because I want to work for the people. Before 2014, there was no one to raise a BJP flag. I helped the party win, but we have not been able to serve people. While Rs 1,000 crore was approved by Centre for the welfare of tea workers, we never received the funds. All BJP does is blame state govt, refusing to act itself. " Barla added, "I don't want to participate in politics where I am obstructed at every step. I wanted to build a hospital with Rs 160 crore in collaboration with the railways but faced opposition from my own party. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Fastest Selling Plots of Mysore from 40L | 40+ Amenities PurpleBrick Learn More Undo I couldn't accomplish anything in the region due to constant interference from Suvendu Adhikari. He wrote a letter to Centre to stop funds." "Suvendu wants to push others aside to get ahead, he aims to become the CM himself," Barla went on to say and accused BJP of betraying the people of north Bengal and trying to hit communal harmony in the state. Barla thanked CM Mamata Banerjee for the respect she showed him. "Didi called me many times. I told her I want to work for my constituency, and that's why I'm here. I have some pain in my heart, which I will share with you all someday... Adivasis are not allowed to speak. We do not get respect," he said. "I thank the CM for providing land lease here. Tribal status has been granted here. In Assam and many other places where there is a double-engine govt, tribal status has not been granted to tea workers. There are 1 crore adivasis in Assam, and they haven't received tribal status," Barla added. Reacting to Barla's decision to join TMC, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said: "People are aware of the development done by TMC, especially in North Bengal. John Barla had tried to score an own goal but failed... Manoj Tigga got elected from Alipurduar. May Barla be well and happy. If he contests against BJP in the assembly, we will send him on a break to keep him happy for a longer time." Bhattacharya added, "Adhikari is a natural leader and attacking him only means he is very relevant."
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Top news of the day: May 15, 2025
Kancha Gachibowli tree-felling: Restore forest or face jail, SC warns Telangana The Supreme Court gave the State of Telangana a choice between restoring the ruined acres of Kancha Gachibowli forest where trees were felled for an IT infrastructure project during an extended weekend or face the prospect of its Chief Secretary and 'half a dozen officials' being sent to a 'temporary prison' near the bulldozed green cover. Rajnath Singh calls for global supervision of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, warns against 'blackmail' On his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir following the launch of Operation Sindoor, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday (May 15, 2025) questioned the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and called for its supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing concerns over what he described as 'irresponsible' conduct by the neighbouring country. Overnight dust storm leaves Delhi with poor AQI, low visibility Air quality of Delhi and other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) are in the upper end of the 'poor' category on Thursday (May 15, 2025), as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. A layer of dust blanketed Delhi-NCR on Thursday (May 15, 2025) morning following overnight dust storms, which reduced visibility and caused a drop in the air quality. Ex-Union Minister John Barla joins TMC, claims BJP did not allow him to work for tribals BJP leader and former Union Minister John Barla joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday, and claimed that the saffron party did not allow him to work for tribal people. Mr. Barla, who was elected on a BJP ticket from Alipurduars in 2019 and served as Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, had expressed unhappiness after being denied a party ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Badlapur encounter: Maharashtra DGP forms new SIT to probe custodial death of accused 'The Director General of Police (DGP) Maharashtra has formed a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, the accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case,' an official said on Thursday (May 15, 2025). 'DGP Rashmi Shukla formed the SIT as per the Supreme Court's orders,' he said. Trump urges Apple CEO Tim Cook to limit production in India U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple CEO Tim Cook to raise production in the U.S. rather than expanding manufacturing in India on Thursday (May 15, 2025). Mr. Trump made the comments during a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, on his Mideast tour, first discussing Apple's plans to build manufacturing plants for its iPhone there. CJI Gavai-led Bench to devote whole of May 20 to hear arguments on interim stay of 2025 waqf amendments A Supreme Court Bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih on Thursday (May 15, 2025) decided to devote an entire day on May 20 to hear arguments for and against an interim order to stay the provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Despite police ban, Rahul Gandhi reaches Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was stopped enroute to Ambedkar hostel where he is scheduled to interact with the students of Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) and Extremely Backward Class (EBC) under Siksha Nyay Samvad., by Darbhanga police on Thursday (May 15, 2025). However, Mr. Gandhi got down from the car and walked to the venue. Rumblings in Congress over KPCC rejig get louder with former president K. Sudhakaran expressing public displeasure Distant rumblings of dissatisfaction with the recent reconstitution of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) appeared to draw closer on Thursday (May 15 2024), with party veteran K. Sudhakaran, MP, publicly expressing unhappiness at the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) decision to remove him from the top post. Supreme Court agrees to hear on May 16 M.P. Minister Vijay Shah's plea against High Court order The Supreme Court on Thursday (May 15, 2025) questioned the sense of responsibility of Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah, who reportedly made derogatory remarks about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, an Army officer who briefed the media during the Operation Sindhoor. Remsons Industries bags ₹300 crore order from Jeep parent Stellantis North America Remsons Industries Ltd, an automotive components manufacturer said it had secured an order of approximately ₹300 crore (USD 35 Million) from Stellantis North America. 'This represents the single largest business win to date for the company,' the company said in a statement.
