It is understood that Ashok Kumar Lahiri—the distinguished economist and BJP MLA from Balurghat, West Bengal—informed the party high command of his wish not to contest the 2026 Assembly polls. Instead, he expressed a desire to move to Delhi, where his core strengths, talent, and skills could be put to better use. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to agree. Lahiri has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, replacing Suman Bery. As the Prime Minister serves as the Chairperson of NITI Aayog, this move places the “right man in the right job.” PM Modi reportedly feels that a proven performer like Lahiri can contribute more effectively from Delhi than by nursing his Balurghat constituency. In a recent tweet the PM noted: “His rich experience in economics and public policy will further strengthen the path of reforms in India and the journey towards becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’.” Seems like PM Modi has gone for a major overhaul of the think tank since 2015. Along with Lahiri, the government has already added four new members: M Srinivas, Abhay Karandkar, Gobardhan Das and KV Raju. Lahiri boasts an impressive track record, including tenures at the World Bank, the IMF, and the ADB, as well as serving as India’s Chief Economic Advisor. Despite these high-profile roles, colleagues describe him as remarkably grounded. Endorsing the selection, Rajat Nag, the former ADB Managing Director, stated: “Ashok Lahiri is a very competent economist with vast experience and international recognition.” Lahiri has shifted to Delhi, met with the Prime Minister, and immediately reported for duty. He has already indicated that his primary focus will be on meaningful policy changes in the healthcare and education sectors—areas he views as essential to achieving the vision of a Viksit Bharat.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha who split two-third members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha and helped party MPs in merging themselves with the BJP, is most likely to get a berth in the Union government.  It is being said Chadha’s switch to the BJP had been in the works for some time. With Punjab assembly elections slated to be held early next year, the BJP wanted Chadha to be on its side to prepare for the elections. At the same time the BJP wanted to ensure that the defectors did not lose much. Or at least they remained as MPs. With more than two-thirds — 7 out of 10 — of the AAP MPs defecting, a figure needed for the MPs to retain their membership in the upper house, Chadha ensured he and his colleagues were safe for the time being. Meanwhile, it is being said Chadha’s continuation in AAP had become difficult ever after Arvind Kejriwal began to take an active interest in Punjab. Particularly after he had lost power in Delhi in February 2025 assembly polls. Besides, Kejriwal also did not want Chadha to play any advisory role to Bhagwant Mann government as he himself had begun to take an active interest in Punjab. It is in this backdrop that reports of Chadha cozying up to the BJP began to do the rounds. Kejriwal removed Chadha as the deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha over allegations of not raising key issues against the Modi government and doing “soft PR” instead. Ironically, when Chadha walked out of the AAP – he had two more MPs as part of the merger — Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, a former IIT professor. Interestingly, Mittal was the AAP replacement for Chadha’s Rajya Sabha deputy leader post.

Former Chief Justice of India B R Gavai’s recent visit to Bageshwar Dham in Madhya Pradesh has made the so-called rationalist and secular elements livid, generating several nasty comments against him. The religious centre and its head, Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, always criticised for his aggressive Hindutva remarks, are thus in the news for a very different reason. The son of the late Dalit icon Ramkrishna Gavai, the retired CJI always speaks in support of the constitution of India and its emphasis on promoting secular principles embedded in it. Therefore, the Gavai family’s visit has come as a surprise for many. Pictures show Gavai at the Bageshwar Dham in Chhatarpur district with his wife Tejaswini and son Jyotiradiya.  The Gavai family had hit the headlines last year when Gavai’s mother, Kamalatai, was invited by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for its Dussehra Rally. Though initial indications were that she would grace the important occasion, Kamalatai soon declined the invite when there was a barrage of criticism about the likely move. A noted social activist in her own right, Kamalatai has always remained away from public appearances. The late Ramkrishna Gavai led a sizable section of a faction of the Republican Party of India, set up by Dr B R Ambedkar. However, he himself had attended a RSS function and was known for his liberal attitude, enabling him to form friendships in all political parties. The CJI has not so far reacted to the feedback created by his visit.

In Odisha a newer kind of political battle is brewing between Naveen Patnaik’s BJD and former members of his party over Biju Patnaik’s death anniversary celebration. The sidelined turncoat ex-BJD leaders like Bijoy Mohapatra (known as super chief minister, founder BJD), Dilip Ray (former Union Minister and BJD founder), independent Rajya Sabha MP Prabhat Tripathy, former BJD MLA, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, former BJD MP, Prasanna Patasani have come together and formed a new platform called ‘Odisha Nagarik Manch’(ONM). Their objective seems to be focussed on appropriating Biju Patnaik’s legacy taking their position as “original Biju followers” but they qualify it saying “ONM as of now is a non-political platform”. Political commentators say this political experiment coming from Bijoy Mohapatra, Dilip Ray and others could gather steam if this new group could prevail upon BJP high command to confer Bharat Ratna to the late Biju Patnaik. Otherwise, the general public say it’s an academic exercise at best because the Biju era politicians like Bijoy Mohapatra, Djlip Ray who are seen as the original mastermind face the challenge of proving their relevance to the new generation.

All eyes are now on Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on how he handles the situation created by transport minister Pratap Sarnaik’s fiat to compel auto rickshaw and taxi drivers to speak Marathi with passengers from 1st May in the state. A leader of Sarnaik’s own party, the Shiv Sena (Shinde), former MP Sanjay Nirupam, is in the forefront of raising a banner of dissent, urging the minister to reconsider the order. The situation is likely to become complicated as Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has supported the directive. Moreover, volatile statements are made by certain functionaries. An announcement by MNS to print and distribute stickers for use of taxi and rickshaw drivers declaring that they know and use Marathi has added to the tension as a section of the drivers have declared their resolve to observe a strike from 4th May against the order. Sarnaik says that it was decided by the state government way back in 2019 to make it compulsory for taxi and rickshaw drivers to interact with passengers in Marathi. However, many complaints were received that the decision was flouted. Therefore, it has been decided to implement the decision strictly, he maintains. Certain MNS leaders have declared that a lesson will be taught to those drivers who say that they don’t know Marathi and will not speak it. Thus, the CM is confronting a complication within the Mahayuti led by him.

Will I-PAC’s decision to pause operations in West Bengal impact the Trinamool Congress? The question looms large as chief minister Mamata Banerjee battles anti-incumbency while seeking a fourth consecutive term. With the first phase of polling scheduled for April 23, the TMC faces fresh turbulence after political consultancy firm I-PAC paused its official operations in Bengal citing legal complications. In an internal communication on April 20, I-PAC asked employees to pause field activities, limit external communication, and avoid official emails, with several teams shifting to remote work amid legal concerns and repeated summons. The situation stems from an ED probe that began as a money-laundering investigation into alleged financial irregularities linked to a 2020 coal smuggling case. Searches were conducted at I-PAC offices in Kolkata and Delhi. While the ED maintained that the investigation was routine and not election-related. The matter escalated after Didi physically intervened during a raid at co-founder Pratik Jain’s residence. The agency claimed that documents and electronic evidence were removed—an allegation denied by the TMC. Mamata accused central agencies of targeting her party and attempting to seize sensitive political data, directly attacking Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The probe has led to the arrest of I-PAC co-founder Vinesh Chandel and questioning of director Rishi Raj Singh. Amid disruptions, TMC supremo has termed the ED’s action a “conspiracy” to intimidate the TMC ahead of the April 23 and April 29 polls. Notably, despite past differences with I-PAC after strategist Prashant Kishor exited the organisation, the TMC leadership—particularly Abhishek Banerjee—had continued relying on I-PAC. In recent months, however, Abhishek’s office has developed an in-house structure mirroring the consultancy’s functions, potentially cushioning the impact of the current disruption.

Odisha which has strong presence in metals and mining is now entering the high the hi-tech semiconductor arena. In a major development, the Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav laid the foundation stone for India’s first silicon-semiconductor plant in Odisha which will make India’s first 3D chip packaging unit at Infovalley-II in Bhubaneswar. It is indeed a historic day for Odisha. This import substitute project worth Rs 1,943 crore is being developed by 3D Glass Solutions Inc (3 DGS) with the Central government investing Rs 799 crore and Odisha government Rs 399.5 crore. This facility is targeting to produce 70,000 glass panels annually, 50 million assembled units and 13,000 advanced 3D heterogeneous integration modules. Sources say, commercial production is slated to begin by August 2028 with the plant going full stream by 2030. The challenges for 3DGS henceforth are cut out for meeting Odisha’s requirement. It needs to make the chip work faster to meet massive computational demand of AI, improving energy efficiency, saving energy, reducing signal losses and handling high temperature issues. Additional Chief Secretary of Odisha’s Energy Department Vishal Kumar Dev called the project “a watershed moment of the state”. He said 3DGS, the company behind this project, is a globally recognised player backed by giants like Intel and Lockheed Martin.

Rahul Gandhi is upset with the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief Selvaperunthagai and wants him to resign after polling in the state. From the face of it the TNCC chief is being hauled up for a translation fiasco.  That is Selvaperunthagai is supposed to have misrepresented Rahul while translating his speech. At a public rally when Rahul by mistake said AIADMK instead of DMK, the TNCC chief also parroted the same line without correcting it to alliance partner, DMK. When his gaffe became viral, Rahul got livid and asked the TNCC chief to stay put in his Sriperumbudur constituency. Party circles in Tamil Nadu are however not convinced that Rahul has taken a harsh view of Selva for gaffe. The buzz in the TN Congress circles is that Selvaperunthagai is being punished for something bigger — the loss of huge sums of election funds that the TN PCC had received. Party bosses see Selvaperunthagai’s alleged role in “missing” election funds – around Rs 25 crore. In fact, it was this hunt for funds that made Selvaperunthagai fake an Income-tax raid on April 20 morning. When I-T denied it had not raided him, he had nowhere to hide his face. The only person who came in support of his fake I-T raid was chief minister M K Stalin. As for Rahul Gandhi he set off on his own for a rally at Colachel, Kanyakumari without the TNCC chief.  It is being said Rahul has come to deeply mistrust the DMK; he has not shared any rally with the ally, nor mentioned DMK’s name in course of his speech. He apparently suspects DMK has purchased Congress men in Tamil Nadu.

  The film Dacoit got mixed reviews trying its best to rise up like a stone at the bottom of a well and all but got its RIP reviews. Suddenly Dacoit has picked up speed and eyeballs…worldwide vasool is now Rs 50 crore, a jaw dropping happenstance for a film that has more swagger than substance. In fact, the title has nothing to do with the story set in a village. The antagonist and protagonist, Mrunal Thakur and Adivi Sesh filled with love revenge and blood lust, each trying to vanquish the other…none of the fearsome dacoit who terrorises. So what happened to that sinking film? Mrunal Thakur …this dimpled dazzling and quietly charming leading lady has single-handedly carried Dacoit and its sizzling gun on her shoulders, bringing viewers in by word of mouth. Mrunal , the darling of Telugu pot boilers, and the unforgettable Lakshmi of Sita Ramam (with Dulquer Salmaan ) has been trained intensely for gun handling. It is evident that she has worked hard enough to be compared with Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and Kalyani Priyadarshan who have moved into the heavy lifting class of women centric films. Mrunal still has a long way to go …she is nowhere near Phoolan Devi, the Chambal ravines terror inducing dacoit …but she has put her heart, soul and delicate persona to test in this intense drama.

The fall of the 131st Constitutional Amendment  (Women Reservation Bill) in the Lok Sabha last week and the BJP ratcheting up attack on the Opposition for not helping in its passage —  complete with PM Modi’s address to the nation, street protests in Delhi and outside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s residence – is not helping ordinary BJP karykarta in Bengal fighting the Trinamool Congress (TMC). In fact, BJP sources are quite puzzled as to why PM Modi tried to even bring a women’s quota bill at this juncture in the midst of Bengal polls. That too, when the government was aware it was set to fall? What was the big idea? Atleast in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is able to take pot shots at DMK leader M K Stalin for putting the state at a disadvantage in the delimitation gamble. In Bengal, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has gone on a disinformation overdrive. It was as if the defeat of the women’s quota bill had given a new lease of life to the TMC. Her campaign has naturally upset the BJP leaders and workers. Mamata, who was fighting with her back to the wall as she had begun to sense hostilities to the TMC among the Hindus, used the defeat of the Bill to describe it as “beginning of BJP’s downfall”. At a rally in Howrah, Didi went on to portray that the BJP had been “defeated” and was surviving in office only with the support of its allies. She was clearly trying to scare potential BJP voters by portraying that the national party no longer mattered in Delhi. Meanwhile senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot too suggested that the government ought to seek a fresh mandate on the gender issue.