New Delhi: Bhawanipur constituency witnesses high-voltage drama as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee And his arch rival Suvendu Adhikari landed in the same polling booth area at the same time and took digs at each other without any direct interaction.As voting for the second phase began in West Bengal on Wednesday, Banerjee and Adhikari took digs at each other without any direct interaction.Banerjee broke the tradition of voting in the afternoon this time and entered the fray before 8 am, indicating the political stakes attached to the constituency and the bigger battle for South Bengal.Though they did not come face to face or exchange courtesies, the two rival candidates were briefly in the same area in Ward No. 70 of Chakraberia, where Banerjee was sitting outside a local party office after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation from local TMC leaders.When officials arrived with a large contingent of central forces, Banerjee remained in the verandah of the party office and started attacking the Chief Minister, claiming that she had realized that “not a single vote” was coming her way.Banerjee alleges ‘poll rigging’, official rejects claimBanerjee accused the BJP of trying to rig the election by using central forces, police observers and election officials.He said, “BJP wants to rig this election. Elections in West Bengal are generally peaceful. Gunda Raj Here?” the Bengal CM said.“Many observers have come from outside and are working as per the instructions of the BJP. They are going to the police stations and building pressure. They are demanding the arrest of all TMC agents. The youth president of my party was picked up this morning and later released,” he alleged.Meanwhile, the official dismissed the chief minister’s claim as a sign of “desperation”, adding that Banerjee was “scared” as the state police was no longer controlling the voting process.“Mamata is scared. Her police have been replaced by central forces, that’s why she is scared. The Election Commission has deployed CAPFs here, so if she has any problem, she should approach them. Why have 40-50 people come with her?” The officer said.The officer also accused the TMC chief of roaming around with “50-60 goons” despite prohibitory orders under Section 163 being imposed.“Banerjee is a candidate. She can definitely visit booths. But why this ‘gudgardi’ (hooliganism)? I have complained to the Kolkata DEO.” This time no one will be allowed to intimidate anyone.‘These are not voters but outsiders’Later in the day, Adhikari also alleged that he was surrounded by TMC supporters and an attempt was made to attack him during his visit to a polling booth. According to him, the incident occurred when he arrived to inspect a polling booth, following which a group of TMC supporters raised slogans of “Jai Bengal” and allegedly surrounded him.“I’m visiting the booth”The situation on the ground deteriorated, prompting the intervention of security personnel deployed at the spot. Central forces reportedly resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control.Voting began at 7 am in major districts including Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia and North and South 24 Parganas, with voters standing in queues at many booths. Over 3.2 crore voters are eligible to vote, with 41,001 polling stations under tight security and webcasting surveillance.Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to voters to turn out in record numbers, urging especially women and youth to participate and strengthen democracy.This phase is being considered decisive, including TMC’s traditional stronghold of South Bengal, where it had a dominant position in 2021. For the BJP, gaining ground here remains a serious challenge. The results will be declared on 4th May.

Image generated by AI is used for representation purposes only

New Delhi: The sixth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), one of India’s largest and most comprehensive health surveys, is expected to be released by the Union Health Minister in the first fortnight of May, officials said. Conducted during 2023-24, the survey covered 6,79,238 households across all states and union territories, creating a vast dataset on health, nutrition and population indicators that will serve as an important reference for policy makers and programme. Managers.NFHS are widely used to track long-term trends and benchmark progress in key areas such as maternal and child health, fertility, nutrition and burden of disease. The upcoming round is expected to provide updated insights following the previous survey conducted in 2019-21.For the first time, NFHS-6 was conducted entirely through Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) using a digital platform with built-in checks for real-time error detection and validation to improve data quality.Officials said the survey involved rigorous field observations and multi-level investigations, including extensive verification and review processes to ensure the accuracy, consistency and reliability of the estimates.The release is expected to be closely monitored by both the Center and states, as the findings will shape future health policies, program design and resource allocation.New Delhi: The sixth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), one of India’s largest and most comprehensive health surveys, is expected to be released by the Union Health Minister in the first fortnight of May, officials said.Conducted during 2023-24, the survey covered 6,79,238 households across all states and union territories, creating a vast dataset on health, nutrition and population indicators that will serve as an important reference for policy makers and program managers.The NFHS is widely used to track long-term trends and benchmark progress in key areas such as maternal and child health, fertility, nutrition and disease burden. The upcoming round is expected to provide updated insights following the previous survey conducted in 2019-21.For the first time, NFHS-6 was conducted entirely through Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) using a digital platform with built-in checks for real-time error detection and validation to improve data quality.Officials said the survey involved rigorous field observations and multi-level investigations, including extensive verification and review processes to ensure the accuracy, consistency and reliability of the estimates.The release is expected to be closely monitored by both the Center and states, as the findings will shape future health policies, program design and resource allocation.