“Those who are targeting Bengal and trying to divide people should go to hell,” the West Bengal CM said, as quoted by news agency PTI.Her remarks come amid a growing political row over the electoral roll scrutiny exercise, which the TMC has repeatedly called an attempt to remove names of genuine voters, especially from minority-dominated areas, ahead of the assembly elections.The chief minister referred to Bengal’s long-standing tradition of communal harmony, saying the state would not allow attempts to divide society to succeed.“Bengal believes in unity. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, everyone lives together here. We will not allow anyone to break this social fabric,” Mamta said.“I stand with everyone in Bengal, with all castes, communities, and creeds. I will continue this fight. We will not let Modi ji snatch away our rights,” she added.Mamta also accused the Centre of trying to control the state government. “You are trying to forcibly control our government, you want to impose President’s rule. She added that she won’t be scared: “Jo darte hain, wo marte hain (those who are afraid are finished). Jo ladte hain, wo zindagi mein kamyab hote hain (those who fight succeed in life).” Elections for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.On Friday, TMC also approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging the transfer of several IAS and IPS officers in West Bengal by the Election Commission of India after the announcement of assembly polls.

Figures from Vortexa show India brought in 81 million barrels of crude between March 1 and 18, compared with 105 million barrels during the same period last month. The steepest fall has been in Middle Eastern supplies, which dropped to 22.4 million barrels from 59.9 million barrels earlier, Xavier Tang, senior market analyst at the firm told financial daily.With the Iran war intensifying and energy routes under strain, refiners have moved quickly to plug the gap. Purchases from Russia have nearly doubled, making it the largest supplier with 34.3 million barrels, around 44% of India’s total imports in the first half of the month, according to Kpler data.At the same time, cargoes from African nations have increased sharply. Angola shipped 7.5 million barrels during the period, a significant jump from 2.9 million barrels in all of February. Congo, Gabon and Sudan, not regular suppliers to India, added 1.9 million barrels, 1.7 million barrels and 700,000 barrels respectively.Flows from the United States have also softened, with about 3 million barrels arriving so far in March, nearly half of what was seen last month.From the Gulf, India has so far imported 7.9 million barrels from Saudi Arabia, 6.8 million barrels from Iraq and 1.9 million barrels from the UAE. However, Saudi shipments are expected to rise in the coming weeks. “We are seeing approximately 15-16 million barrels of crude loading from Saudi Arabia’s west coast to India this month,” said Nikhil Dubey, senior refining analyst at Kpler. “Of this, around 9 million barrels are already enroute and are expected to arrive within the next 6-7 days,” he said, adding that some deliveries may extend into April due to longer voyage times.Analysts caution that if disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz continue through March, overall imports could fall to between 115 million and 125 million barrels, below the usual monthly range of around 150 million barrels.Amid the tight supply scenario, there are indications that Iranian oil could re-enter the market. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington may allow crude already at sea to be sold, potentially opening the door for buyers such as India. Before sanctions halted the trade, Iranian oil accounted for roughly 10% of India’s crude inflows, with most of those volumes now heading to China.

Recalling his first interaction with Pandya, Jaffer went back to the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy season, when Mumbai faced Baroda and Pandya was still an emerging talent.Speaking on his Instagram profile, Jaffer said: “The first time I met him was during the 2014 or 2015 Ranji season. Mumbai were playing Baroda in Baroda. Irfan (Pathan), Yusuf (Pathan), and Munaf (Patel) were playing in the opposition team. I was not playing that match because I was injured, but I traveled with the team.”“I remember that we went to Irfan’s house for dinner, and that is when I met Hardik and Krunal for the first time,” said Jaffer. “Irfan told me, ‘Meet Hardik, he is going to play very soon.’ And I think he was picked by the Mumbai Indians that season itself.”At the time, Pandya was just beginning to make a name for himself, but his admiration for Jaffer was already evident.“Irfan told me that he is a big fan of mine. Hardik himself said, ‘Main aapki batting bahut dekhta hoon aur mujhe bahut apka khelne ka andaz pasand hai (I watch your batting a lot and I really like the way you play).’”“It’s very nice of him that he still takes my name in front of big stars. And that is why there has been so much news about who Wasim Jaffer is,” reflected Jaffer. “People keep hearing other names very often, but they might not remember Wasim Jaffer because I made a name for myself in First-Class cricket.”