Baby Chakraborty, KalimNews, Delhi, June 8, 2025: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is preparing to initiate the formal process of selecting its next national president, with internal discussions intensifying in recent weeks. While the party has yet to make an official announcement, sources suggest that the process could formally begin as early as mid-June.

According to party insiders, organizational elections—a constitutional prerequisite for electing the national president—have been completed in most states. The announcement of 70 new district presidents in Uttar Pradesh has further fueled speculation that the party is moving closer to finalizing its top leadership post. The process had briefly stalled following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, but has since regained momentum.

Ahead of the national appointment, the BJP is likely to carry out a major reshuffle in key state units. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are among the states expected to see new leadership at the state level.

In Uttar Pradesh, internal demands for greater representation from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) have led to reconsideration of the candidate profile. While a Brahmin leader was earlier seen as a likely pick, the current sentiment within the party leans toward appointing an OBC leader to strengthen the party’s hold on that crucial vote bank.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP currently has an OBC Chief Minister and a Brahmin state president. This time, the leadership is exploring the possibility of appointing an Adivasi (tribal) leader as state president to enhance representation and outreach among tribal communities.

In Uttarakhand, sources indicate that a Brahmin leader is leading the race for the state unit chief post, though an official decision has not yet been made.

Meanwhile, attention is also focused on the race for the national president. Three prominent leaders are reportedly under consideration:

• Dharmendra Pradhan, an OBC leader from Odisha and current Union Minister, is known for his strong organizational skills and close ties with the central leadership.

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and current Union Minister, is widely regarded as a mass leader with deep grassroots connections.

• Manohar Lal Khattar, former Chief Minister of Haryana who recently joined the Union Cabinet, brings considerable administrative experience and is seen as a figure of continuity.

Party sources indicate that the final choice will take into account a combination of factors—organizational experience, regional representation, and social balance—to ensure broader acceptability across the party and electorate.

The current national president, JP Nadda, has been in office since January 2020. His term was extended to guide the party through the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. With that phase now completed, the leadership transition is under active consideration. It remains unclear whether Nadda will seek a second full term or whether the party will opt for a new face to lead it into the next phase.

A central election committee will soon be constituted to oversee the national election process, including nominations, verification, and voting if required.

Meanwhile, opposition parties including the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are closely observing these internal developments. The BJP’s choice of president is expected to significantly influence its campaign strategy for upcoming state elections in 2026 and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Baby Chakraborty, KalimNews, Kolkata, June 7, 2025: Amid rising concerns over security along the India-Bangladesh border, the West Bengal government has initiated the process to hand over 356 acres of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for the installation of barbed wire fencing in unfenced areas. This move comes after a prolonged delay and increasing pressure from the Centre to expedite the land transfer essential for national security.

So far, the Union government has sanctioned funds for the acquisition of 680 acres of land across various border districts of West Bengal. Of this, 324 acres have already been handed over to the BSF. The remaining 356 acres had been stuck in administrative complications, but recent developments suggest a breakthrough. Officials at Nabanna—the state secretariat—confirmed that instructions have now been issued to speed up the land acquisition process and facilitate immediate transfer to the border security agency.

The breakthrough follows a high-level meeting held last Sunday between senior state government officials and the Union Home Secretary. Sources suggest that this meeting helped iron out differences and led to a mutual agreement. District Magistrates of key border districts including Malda, Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, and Cooch Behar have been instructed to acquire the required land from private landowners on a priority basis. Once completed, the land will be formally handed over to the BSF to begin fencing operations.

The decision is being implemented on a war-footing, with administrative heads of the concerned districts directed to avoid any further delays. Senior officials from the state government confirmed that this is being treated as a top-priority issue, considering the increasing incidents of illegal infiltration through the unfenced segments of the border.

The urgency also stems from intelligence inputs received by both central and state agencies about attempts by extremist groups based in Bangladesh—including Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT), and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT)—to infiltrate operatives into West Bengal. The objective of such infiltration, officials say, is to establish sleeper cells in bordering districts.

The BSF has long flagged these gaps in border security, citing them as significant vulnerabilities exploited for illegal crossings, smuggling, and other transnational crimes. With the land handover process now underway, security agencies are hopeful that fencing operations can be completed swiftly, strengthening the state’s border infrastructure and minimizing the risks posed by unfenced stretches.

Baby Chakraborty, KalimNews,  Kolkata, June 4, 2025 : The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday admitted multiple petitions challenging the latest notification issued by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) regarding recruitment for teaching and non-teaching posts in state-run and government-aided schools. In a separate case, the state government’s recently announced monthly stipend scheme for Group-C and Group-D staff has also been contested before the same court. Both matters are expected to be heard on June 5.

The single-judge vacation bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury admitted the petition related to the recruitment notification. The challenge comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s April 3 verdict, which cancelled 25,753 appointments made in 2016, citing irregularities in the recruitment process. Following this decision, teachers affected by the ruling have been protesting statewide.

Petitioners argue that the latest recruitment notification introduces significant changes to the weightage system, including 10 marks each for past teaching experience and lecture demonstrations. They allege that these changes unfairly advantage previously appointed candidates and disadvantage fresh applicants.

One protesting teacher commented, “We are not ready to sit for examinations again after teaching for so many years. There are several lacunae in the notification and weightage.”

Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya alleged that the notification lacked transparency and could potentially pave the way for another scam. Advocate Sudipta Dasgupta claimed that although all are technically allowed to sit for the examination, the process excludes both disqualified and fresh candidates in practice. He asserted that the 10-mark allocation for experienced candidates appears deliberately biased.

In a separate petition, Lubana Parveen, one of the nearly 26,000 teachers whose appointments were cancelled by the Supreme Court, challenged the same notification before Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee. She argued that the notification is in violation of the apex court’s directive, which required the SSC to issue a new recruitment process but did not authorise the creation of an entirely new rule structure.

According to advocate Firdous Shamim, the modified recruitment framework now allots 10 marks for teaching experience, effectively placing dismissed candidates in a 90-mark exam format while fresh applicants face a 100-mark test. Shamim contended that the 2025 recruitment should follow the rules used in 2016, which assigned 35 marks for academic qualifications, 55 for the written test, and 10 for interviews.

Under the 2025 structure, however, academic qualifications carry only 10 marks, written tests 60, and interviews and lecture demonstrations 10 marks each. Shamim argued that these adjustments create a disadvantage for candidates without prior teaching experience. He also highlighted changes to the shortlisting process for interviews, alleging that the candidate-to-post ratio has shifted from 1:1.4 to 1:1.6, in further deviation from established norms.

The WBSSC had issued the latest recruitment notification on May 30, aiming to fill 35,726 vacancies by May 31, as per the Supreme Court’s directive. This includes 23,312 posts for classes 9-10 and 12,514 posts for classes 11-12 in secondary and higher secondary schools across West Bengal.

The Supreme Court, in its April judgment, declared the 2016 recruitment panel “tainted,” resulting in the termination of over 25,000 jobs. It later clarified that “untainted” candidates would continue to receive their salaries until December 2025, while 1,804 individuals were permanently barred from returning to service. The Court also instructed the state government and SSC to file affidavits by May 31 detailing the new recruitment procedure.

Lubana Parveen’s petition further claims that the recent notification and the appointment of 3,000 individuals violates court instructions regarding age exemptions, experience weightage, and examination structure. She alleges that the new notification alters the balance of marks in a way that reduces the weightage for academic qualifications while inflating written test scores, further disadvantaging certain candidates.

With multiple petitions now admitted, and serious allegations of non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s directives raised, the Calcutta High Court is poised to examine the legality and fairness of the state’s current recruitment and stipend policies. The next hearing is scheduled for June 5.