After the removal of Trinamool Congress founder Mamata Banerjee as party chairperson, the rebel TMC faction on June 22 approached the Election Commission seeking recognition as the “real” TMC and stake claim to the party name and its election (twin flowers with grass) symbol. The dissident MLAs not only ousted Mamata Banerjee but also Abhishek Banerjee from the post of national general secretary. Former minister Arup Roy was unanimously elected chairperson, while the rebellion is being led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, who claims the support of 65 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs. In a counter move, Mamata submitted to the EC a list of what she described as the legitimate national working committee, that includes herself as chairperson, Abhishek as national general secretary, Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen as joint secretaries, Subhashish Chakraborty as treasurer and Sovondeb Chatterjee as Assembly leader. The crisis comes amid mounting challenges for Mamata, including a breakaway group of Lok Sabha MPs aligning with the NDA and the resignation of three Rajya Sabha MPs. While the rebels want her retained only in an advisory role, her camp has shrunk to loyalists such as Kalyan Banerjee, Madan Mitra, Mahua Moitra, Sougata Roy, Nadimul Haq and Kunal Ghosh. The TMC leadership has expelled several dissidents, including Javed Khan, Firhad Hakim, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Sabina Yeasmin, Aroop Biswas and Snehashis Chakraborty. Adding to the turmoil, TMC bank accounts holding around Rs 440 crore have been frozen following complaints by the rebel faction seeking an audit. With parallels being drawn to the Shiv Sena and NCP splits in Maharashtra, the battle is expected to involve the EC, Assembly Speaker and Supreme Court, potentially triggering a prolonged legal and political confrontation.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) which faces its biggest existential crisis has given revival hopes to both the Left and Congress in West Bengal. With several senior leaders and workers either leaving the TMC or becoming politically inactive due to internal conflicts have created opportunities for both the Opposition parties to regain relevance. In the rural areas, TMC leaders and workers are reportedly joining the CPI(M) or Congress, strengthening grassroots networks and public outreach programmes. With a view to rejig its political strategy, the CPI(M) will be holding a two-day session of the party’s State Committee on August 30 and 31 to review the changing political situation, particularly developments within the TMC, organisational strengthening, future political plans and anti-BJP movements. CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby and several Politburo members are expected to attend. Incidentally, despite leading major protests across the state over the past five years, the party’s vote share has remained around 5%, with major voters shifting towards either the BJP or the TMC. However, winning an Assembly seat and finishing as runner-up in Falta, CPI(M) leaders see encouragement within the party. Leaders are also optimistic that a section of minority voters may gradually return. For organisational strengthening, the CPI(M) has inducted farmer leader Meghnath Bhuniya, youth leader Dhrubajyoti Chakraborty and Democratic Women’s Association state secretary Monalisa Sinha into its State Committee, while Domkal MLA Mustafizur Rahman Rana has been made an invited member after helping the party secure representation in the Assembly. Meanwhile, Pradesh Congress has simultaneously launched an expansion drive and is planning large-scale induction programmes. According to State president Subhankar Sarkar, anyone accepting the party’s ideology would be welcomed, except those facing corruption allegations. The party also plans to bring Rahul Gandhi to Kolkata to accelerate revival efforts.

Tamil Nadu Assembly has overnight changed into a bitter battleground by the verbal power sparring of the two political aspirants …the Victor and the Vanquished. After the ceremonial Governor’s address, the formality of Thanks for this inaugural has quickly deteriorated into an unpleasant and distasteful war of insults. Chief minister Joseph Vijay has emerged the victor, but is not about to settle down to critical issues. Are his melodramatic actions (the chopping hand imitation of Stalin Sr) and thinly disguised anecdotes about where the father is, a constant throwback to his hero status. LoP Udhayanidhi Stalin for his part is no less eloquent in dredging up personal issues that have no bearing on the crucial problems of TN….” There is a wife searching for her husband in the Chengalpattu court”, snidely referring to the divorce proceedings of Vijay and wife Sangeetha. Political history is peppered with glaring instances of arch enemies (born out of ambition or betrayal) locked in bitter conflict. Coincidentally, we are reminded of the mortal enmity of Russia’s Joseph Stalin and Leo Trotsky…Stalin known for his slick manoeuvres to cut Trotsky’s talent for fanning revolution, to get a grip on power. But what happens to the issues of TN’s overpowering direct debt of Rs 10 lakh crore, the serious power deficit, farmers demands, law and order problems? A newly elected government cannot wish away serious problems as legacies left by the previous government.

A silent but potentially transformative battle is unfolding beneath Mumbai’s frenetic redevelopment boom — the business of rubble. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has rolled out the beta version of its ‘Malba’ portal ahead of a full public launch on July 1 and India’s financial capital becomes the second city after Delhi to digitally track construction and demolition (C&D) waste. The timing is significant. Mumbai is in the middle of one of its biggest urban churns — old housing societies are being razed, slums redeveloped, metro corridors expanded and infrastructure projects accelerated. But every demolition leaves behind an uncomfortable by-product: millions of tonnes of debris. For decades, that rubble disappeared into vacant plots, creeks, mangroves and roadsides, creating dust pollution, choking fragile ecosystems and adding to urban chaos. What was dismissed as waste is now being recast as economic inventory. The Malba platform aims to connect waste generators, transporters, recyclers and regulators into a single compliance chain, allowing authorities to track debris from demolition site to recycling plant. Delhi’s early experiment has already established the proof of concept. Mumbai could now scale it. The larger opportunity lies beyond enforcement. India’s redevelopment economy is creating a parallel debris economy — recycling aggregates, paver blocks and road-building material from yesterday’s concrete. Industry estimates suggest recycled debris utilisation, currently in low single digits, could touch 50% by 2030. If that happens, rubble may no longer remain the cost of development. It could become one of its most valuable raw materials. Sources reveal that even the Adani group is in talks to set up a crushing plant within the largest urban renewal project it is currently seized of at Dharavi in Mumbai    

In a jaw-dropping display of corporate desperation, Netflix, the self-proclaimed king of global streaming, has been forced to its knees by comedian Samay Raina. Season 2 of India’s Got Latent premiered on June 20, 2026, at 7 PM IST in a historic simulcast on both Netflix and YouTube. This marks the first time the platform has abandoned its ironclad exclusivity demand for a major title, all because Raina commands a fiercely loyal independent army that no contract could conquer. Raina, with over 9.4 million YouTube subscribers and hundreds of millions of views, built his empire brick by brick on raw, unfiltered chaos. After the explosive 2025 controversy that briefly took the show offline and drew police scrutiny, Raina emerged stronger. Netflix, facing stagnant Indian growth and creator fatigue, reportedly shelled out Rs 20 crore upfront just to get in the room, while Raina shrewdly retained full YouTube control for ad revenue which will roughly go to Rs 60 lakh monthly. Insiders whisper this hybrid deal could net Raina Rs 2 crore per episode through combined streams, brand tie-ins and his strong fanbase. Netflix also greenlit an exclusive stand-up special with him. Here, the giant blinked first. No more “Netflix Original” stranglehold; Raina’s community power forced a revenue-sharing revolution that echoes TVF’s early indie wins but on steroids. This isn’t collaboration; it’s capitulation. In the cut-throat OTT wars, Netflix admitted what Bollywood A-listers and rival streamers won’t: a creator with authentic followers is bigger than the corporate muscle. Raina didn’t just get a deal but he made Netflix share the throne, proving that owning your audience turns even the biggest platforms into desperate suitors.

Kangana Ranaut once zoomed through Bollywood like a queen in a sports car; bold, unstoppable, collecting hits and National Awards. But her recent journey has turned into a comedy of errors on four wheels. With Bharat Bhagya Vidhata crashing as the fourth consecutive flop, the highway to silver-screen glory now has a big flashing “Road Closed” sign. It’s time for a playful pit-stop analysis of the last four bumpy rides. First gear: Dhaakad (2022) — Kangana played a slick, gun-toting spy in this high-octane action vehicle. It looked flashy on the trailer highway but the audience took a different route. The film stalled spectacularly; a certified disaster with barely any collections. Flat tyre number one. Second gear: Tejas (2023). She soared as a brave Indian Air Force pilot in a patriotic drama. The emotional highs were there, the aerial stunts impressive, yet the box-office altimeter showed a steep nosedive. Another disaster. The plane of expectations never really left the runway. Third turn: Emergency (2025). Kangana took the director’s seat and played Indira Gandhi in a politically charged drama. It sparked debates and controversies like rush-hour traffic, but multiplex counters saw more tumbleweeds than ticket buyers. Disaster number three: the road was getting narrower. Fourth and final blockade: Bharat Bhagya Vidhata (June 2026). In this intense tribute to the unsung hospital heroes of 26/11, Kangana delivers a sincere, grounded performance as nurse Geeta and even co-produced the film. Noble theme, strong supporting cast, gripping real-life inspiration… yet the audience stayed home. The film city highway looks permanently barricaded for Kangana. Maybe it’s time to take the political exit ramp, where her fiery speeches and larger-than-life persona can still draw crowds and headlines. Or perhaps she’ll do what she does best; go back to the beginning, struggle, fight, and rebuild from scratch.

  The Mohan Charan Majhi-led government in Odisha is facing intense public and political backlash over the newly printed Odisha SCERT textbooks for Classes 1 to 8, revised under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and found to contain 1,678 glaring errors, including factual, geographical, and typographical mistakes. The state has spent over Rs 50 crore to print these new text books which now will have to be replaced with the right one. The unpardonable blunder has affected over 40 lakh school students. For instance, Isaac Newton has been identified as a “greatest pilot”, Temple in Hampi described as Konarak Sun Temple, Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly shown as Odisha Assembly and Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills are shown located in Jharkhand. Apart from these blunders, there are spelling mistakes galore with names of eminent personalities incorrectly spelt. The public at large say BJP came to power in Odisha on the plank of protecting Odia identity, but instead now schoolchildren are fed wrong information. Opposition parties like the BJD termed this issue as a national embarrassment. Most political analysts say Odisha’s first-time Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj with a BTech degree and corporate experience seemed the right man but Majhi government overloaded him with other responsibilities. Majhi government has now set up a three-member high level committee to investigate how these grave mistakes escaped everybody’s eyes, who is responsible for it and what’s the remedy. The committee has been asked to submit its report within the next seven days.

The rebellion by 20 of the Trinamool Congress’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs against party chief Mamata Banerjee was the result of months of planning rather than a sudden revolt marking the biggest crisis in the TMC’s history, according to well placed sources. While Didi and her close aides had been monitoring dissident MPs, they reportedly underestimated the scale of support for the rebellion and did not anticipate that nearly two-thirds of the party’s Lok Sabha members would break ranks, mirroring the earlier revolt by MLAs who formed a separate bloc in the Assembly.  The crisis escalated after TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy resigned and a group of Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar informed Speaker Om Birla that they sought recognition as a separate bloc for 20 MPs and intended to join the BJP-led NDA. The dissidents have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a West Bengal-based party registered in 2023. Among the most significant setbacks for the TMC are the exits of Kakoli, veterans Sudip Banerjee and Mala Roy, and Saayoni Ghosh, considered a close associate of Abhishek Banerjee. The split traces its roots to the aftermath of the Assembly election defeat. Tensions sharpened when Mamata and Abhishek removed Kakoli as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha and reinstated Kalyan Banerjee. Sources said the move marked the beginning of her estrangement from the party she had served for four decades. After publicly expressing disappointment on social media, Kakoli was approached by BJP leaders and later received Y-category security. By late May, she resigned from all party posts. Significantly, MPs majorly refused to accept Abhishek’s leadership. Further some such as Satabdi Roy, Sarmila Sarkar, Arup Chakraborty claimed that the leadership is right now directionless.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde walked out of the unified Shiv Sena on 21 June 2022. Since then the Sena’s UBT faction has never recovered from the shock, albeit it was in seventh heaven for a short while after making a handsome show in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Ever since, it has lost every election held in the state, be it for the Rajya Sabha, the legislative council or for a non-descript local body. Even as Uddhav Thackeray’s six Lok Sabha members are presently preparing documentation to formally join Shinde, the deputy CM’s planners are reportedly working on another ‘Operation.’ It is said that they are eyeing veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction’s Lok Sabha group. If they are successful, the NDA’s tally will be enhanced by another half a dozen. Moreover, the Shinde team appears not content with poaching just the parliament and the state legislature wings of rival parties. It has trained its focus on the Mumbai municipal corporation, which is already in the saffron pocket. If they succeed, the Opposition in the civic body will become even more feeble. Those reporters who were active in covering the first ever split in the Sena in 1991 and the tricks played by the Congress party to hide the dissenter Chhagan Bhujbal from the ire of violent Sainiks chuckle when they compare today’s UBT Sena’s mere verbal outbursts. The clout wielded by Balasaheb Thackeray is now the subject of just a historical tale, they feel.

From the moment it became obvious that six Lok Sabha members of the Shiv Sena (UBT) had made up their mind to desert the party, search was on for a whipping boy. Finally, it has zeroed on Aaditya Thackeray, son of party chief Uddhav. After the 2019 coup, Uddhav became the chief minister and Aaditya was inducted in his team as a cabinet minister, no matter it was his maiden term and had no experience of administration or governance. Since then, Aaditya has become the butt of many barbs. The latest has come from his arch critic, Nitesh Rane. He has compared Aaditya with Mamata Banerjee’s much maligned nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. After the TMC lost West Bengal, many of its top leaders were facing showers of eggs and other missiles. To guard himself, Abhishek had to wear a head helmet, some images showed. Nitesh has predicted that a day will come when Aaditya will have to put on a helmet before venturing out of Matoshri, the Thackeray family mansion. He will be sending a helmet to Aditya soon, he has announced. Nitesh has alleged that Uddhav and Aaditya had been working on a plan to merge their party with the Congress, which had agreed to appoint Aaditya a general secretary of the party. “The six MPs of Sena (UBT) decided to align with the Shinde Sena after learning of this planning,” Nitesh says.