In a major pre-poll development, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the clearance of long-pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears just 55 minutes before the Election Commission of India (ECI) released the 2026 Assembly election schedule. The move, coming amidst a prolonged legal battle in the Supreme Court, is seen as a strategic step to win over the disgruntled state government employees and pensioners ahead of the crucial polls.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister stated that the ‘Ma-Mati-Manush’ government has fulfilled its promise to lakhs of employees, teachers, and pensioners. As per the announcement, the payout of ROPA 2009 DA arrears will commence in March 2026. This benefit will cover state government employees, pensioners, teaching and non-teaching staff of educational institutions, and workers in grant-in-aid bodies like panchayats and municipal corporations. The Finance Department is set to issue official notifications detailing the payment modalities shortly.

The timing of the announcement is critical, as it narrowly bypassed the Model Code of Conduct. It follows a recent Supreme Court order directing the state to release at least 25% of the total outstanding DA arrears by March 31, 2026. Alongside the DA relief, CM Banerjee also announced a ₹500 hike in the monthly honorarium for priests and muezzins, bringing the total to ₹2,000 per month. While the opposition BJP has slammed the move as a desperate “election joke,” the employee unions have welcomed the news as a hard-earned victory after years of protests.