In a dramatic turn of events, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the clearance of long-pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears just minutes before the Election Commission declared the assembly poll dates today. This strategic move is being viewed as an attempt to pacify the disgruntled state government employees who have been protesting for years over their dues.

The DA Announcement: Taking to social media, the CM confirmed that the state will begin paying pending DA arrears under the ROPA 2009 pay structure from March 2026. This move benefits millions of beneficiaries, including government employees, pensioners, teachers, and staff of municipal and panchayat bodies. The announcement comes in the wake of a Supreme Court directive, where the top court had ordered the state to address the cost-of-living adjustments for its workforce.

What Do the Surveys Say? As the political temperature rises, the latest Matrize-IANS Opinion Poll suggests a competitive edge for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The projections are as follows:

• TMC: 155-170 seats.
• BJP+: 100-115 seats.
• Others/Left: 5-7 seats. While the TMC is projected to retain power with a comfortable lead, the gap between the ruling party and the BJP in terms of vote share remains narrow (around 2%). Analysts believe that the dual “masterstroke”—hiking the honorariums of priests and muezzins alongside the DA announcement—could significantly tilt the urban and middle-class vote bank in favor of the TMC.