Union Cabinet Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s visit (Nov 21) to Odisha post Bihar election win, has set the tongues wagging.  It is learnt that the chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his loyal band of ministers deliberately did not go to Bhubaneswar airport to receive and congratulate him for his Bihar success. Sources say Majhi has been wary of Pradhan’s clout and his chief ministerial ambition. This new incident, sources say, has possibly widened the unspoken rift between the Union Minister Pradhan and chief minister Majhi. Political observers say “empathy and trust are paramount values in the reciprocal political relationship”. Party insiders say, the chief minister deliberately scheduled a cabinet meeting so as to give a miss to Pradhan’s visit. But, one thing is loud and clear, Pradhan who has been eyeing the CM’s chair for quite some time, may one day well be occupying it given his accomplishments within the BJP.

On the back of Bihar drubbing, the Congress sent a team of senior AICC secretaries headed by Girish Raya Chodankar (AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) to Chennai to negotiate seat-sharing with DMK for assembly elections next year. The team includes key state leaders: TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai, Congress Legislature Party leader S Rajeshkumar, AICC secretaries Nivedith Alva and Suraj Hegde. The panel is expected to hit the ground running next week. Interestingly, soon after the Bihar results, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin had sent his son-in-law V Sabareesan as an emissary to meet with Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi this week. Party sources said Sabareesan had taken a letter from Stalin offering 15 seats for the Congress in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly polls. In 2021, the Congress had contested 25 seats and had won 18. The party now has 17 legislators in its fold, after one of the MLAs, S Vijayadharani switched to the BJP in 2024. In Bihar, the Congress had contested 61 seats in an Opposition alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal. It managed to win only 6 seats. The early despatching of the AICC team to Chennai to seal an electoral pact with the DMK effectively shuts down speculation about the Congress moving towards a tie-up with the newbie TVK. This even as some individual leaders like party MP Manickam Tagore have been pushing for a tie-up with youth icon, popular actor and TVK leader Vijay.

The buzz in Odisha for quite some time is who will step into Naveen Patnaik’s shoes, this has become stronger post Biju Janata Dal’s humiliating defeat in the recently held bypoll election. It slipped to the third position while Congress moved to the 2nd position with BJP winning by huge margin. Political observers say “BJD seems to be in the worst moment”. Already, prominent and senior BJD leaders like Mamta Mahanta MP, Sujit Kumar, Rajya Sabha and ex-MP strategist Amar Patnaik have quit BJD sometime back joining BJP. Fresh rumours are that more BJD members could join BJP if discontent within BJD’s rank and file grows further. Given Naveen Babu’s advancing age (79) plus health complications resulting in him not being able to walk without assistance, have convinced his party workers that he should not be looking after the day-to-day running of his party. So, who could take over the party’s mantle? Sources say Sujata R Karthikeyan, ex-IAS, former Mission Shakti Chief of BJD’s powerful women wing and wife of Patnaik’s man Friday VK Pandian could be a strong contender. This is because Patnaik trusts the Pandians totally. Sources say, Sujata’s formal entry into BJD could take place on BJD’s Foundation Day December 26 while others say Sujata could be nominated to the Rajya Sabha. Only time will tell.

For 2026 Assembly polls, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) appear to be adjusting their political messaging. The party is presenting a more explicit secular position, moving away from repeated accusations that it favours one community. The TMC’s December 6 rally — usually managed by the minority cell — has been handed this year to the student and youth wings, signaling a shift in how TMC wants the event to be viewed. The rally commemorates the demolition of the Babri Masjid, but TMC’s leadership wants the day to be framed as an appeal for communal unity rather than a community-focused programme. Calling December 6, a “symbolically strong day”, the party wants the event to mark the opening of its grassroots-level campaign for 2026 with both Didi and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee likely to address the gathering. The party leaders say the aim is to counter what they see as increasing communal mobilisation by the BJP. Internally, TMC leaders acknowledge that recent political trends — including the limited impact of SIR in Bihar — have prompted a reassessment. The party believes the BJP is using the issue to sharpen religious polarisation, and it wants to respond with a message that can consolidate secular-leaning voters. Predictably, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has criticised the rally, saying it is another attempt at appeasement. The decision to involve younger wings of the party is also intended to suggest a wider, more inclusive organisational base. The effectiveness of this shift will depend on whether TMC can follow the rally with sustained outreach. The move indicates that TMC recognises that the political narrative in Bengal is changing, and that it must adapt if it hopes to shape voter sentiment ahead of 2026 Assembly polls.

The coming local body election in Maharashtra has forced the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi partners to face a Hobson’s Choice, giving indications that the BJP-led Mahayuti will have a smooth sailing, thanks to the likely vote division in the opposition camp. The already decimated Congress party has declared that it will not team up with the Shiv Sena (UBT) since its leader Uddhav Thackeray has decided to fight the election jointly with cousin Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). If both, the Congress and Uddhav, remain firm on their stand, the Mahayuti’s expectation to win on a platter will become a reality as the opposition’s vote bank will be dented. Realising this possibility, Uddhav has started persuading the Congress to remain in MVA. So far, the outcome is elusive. On the other hand, the Congress has urged senior leader Sharad Pawar to extend his support to it but the NCP(SP) is yet to make up its mind. The Hobson’s Choice, thus, faces the Congress and Uddhav’s Sena. If Uddhav and Raj are not hand in hand, the Marathi vote in Mumbai and Thane will be split, to the advantage of the Mahayuti. If the cousins come together, the Congress and perhaps even the NCP(SP) can think of other options, ultimately harming the MVA prospects, overall. Although all is not well in the Mahayuti camp either, the MVA’s splintering will override the saffron camp’s differences and present it with a massive mandate, it seems as of now.

Mindless exhibition of pride for Marathi language has led to a horrific tragedy, claiming a young student’s life. The deceased, Arnav Khaire, was a student of Kelkar College in Mulund. His father Jitendra has complained to the police that the youngster ended his life after he was assaulted by a group of co-commuters while travelling in a second-class compartment of a suburban train. Arnav had requested one of the co-commuters to move slightly in Hindi. This reportedly led to the tragedy as the group asked why he wasn’t speaking in Marathi. Even after Arnav told them that he was Marathi, they still attacked him. Depressed, Arnav committed suicide, the father has complained. Assistant Commissioner of Police Kalyanji Ghete has formed a special team to investigate. Over the past few months, assaulting those unable to respond in Marathi has taken place time and again, especially in the Mumbai-Thane belt. Those facing the wrath of proponents of use of Marathi include a bank official, a shopkeeper and stray non-Maharashtrians. Arguments over speaking Marathi have been reported from varied locations. For example, clashes in suburban trains are more common occurrences. Autorickshaw drivers, hawkers and even social media users. Some time ago, a shopkeeper in Vikhroli was attacked for a WhatsApp status deemed offensive to the Marathi community. He was forced to apologise after being physically assaulted. Afraid, those at the receiving end rarely lodge police complaints. However, the trend of assault has created an atmosphere of apprehension.

It was a disinformation war fought on social media to mislead Tamil Nadu voters. DMK leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin accused the Union government of “denying” metro rail to Coimbatore and Madurai as part of revenge politics; and his post emphasised how the Centre was favouring BJP-ruled states over non-BJP states in providing metro services. Responding to Stalin’s charge, Union Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in a post on X said Stalin had “chosen to politicise” the issue and had ignored the “magnanimous sanction” made by Central government of Rs 63,246 crore for Chennai Metro Phase II for a route of 119 km, the largest ever such project approved. As for rejection of metro projects for Coimbatore and Madurai, Khattar added that the Detailed Project Reports did not comply with essential norms of the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, mandating a population threshold of two million in the urban agglomeration. The Coimbatore and Madurai proposals apparently contained the following discrepancies: (1) For lesser route length in Coimbatore than in Chennai Metro system, a higher traffic projection as compared to Chennai had been given. On the face of it appeared erroneous. (2) Projected average trip lengths and speed differentials between road traffic and the metro, did not support the expectation of a modal shift of traffic to a metro system. A miffed Stalin however felt that Tier-II cities in BJP ruled states were being favoured while opposition ruled States are deprived, is a disgraceful approach. Asserting that Tamil Nadu, the land of self-respect, will never accept a distortion of federal principles and will ensure that Tier-II cities in the state also get metros. Tamil Nadu BJP leaders like Vanathi Srinivasan asserted that Coimbatore and Madurai would get metros under AIADMK-led government post assembly polls.

The bonding between both the ruling and opposition coalition partners in Maharashtra went for a toss for the forthcoming local self-government bodies elections scheduled in December. The local polls for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats, the first local polls being held in state post-Covid lockdown, are crucial for all the parties as they are being held after a long gap. Surprisingly, the ruling Mahayuti government has poached a leader from their own coalition partners — Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. This upset Shinde’s ministerial team so much so that they protested by boycotting the November 18 cabinet meeting. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis remained unrepentant and is said to have not just justified the poaching. Keen to form a “triple-engine sarkar” in Maharashtra, Fadnavis is keen to replicate BJP’s success at the Centre and State level for the third time at the local governance level. Equations at the local self-government elections have always been known to be at variance with parties’ stated positions at the state or central government level. The split in outfits like the NCP and Shiv Sena has further muddied the political waters in the state and parties are finding it difficult to rein in the ambitions of their party workers. While Sharad Pawar, known to have his ear to the ground, has already clarified that his partymen were free to align with anyone at the local level, others fail to be that clear. The Congress is going solo and not aligning with the MVA in these local polls in response to the political alignment of the Thackeray brothers. While Congress is worried about allying with Raj Thackeray’s MNS lest it affect their North Indian voters, it is equally wary of allying with its own coalition partner, Uddhav Thackeray for successfully attracting their core Muslim vote bank in recent polls.

It is really amazing to see that both the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu — the ruling DMK that is part of INDIA Bloc and aligned with the Congress, and  the Opposition AIADMK that is aligned with the BJP — are drawing a lot comfort from the historic verdict in Bihar which saw return of Nitish Kumar as CM for a record 10th term. Of particular interest is the way DMK leader and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, who had even travelled to Bihar in August and joined Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav in a rally against SIR of electoral rolls. Stalin was convinced that Nitish Kumar decisively won the electoral battle for “fulfilling the expectations of the people of Bihar”.  On X he tweeted “Election outcomes reflect welfare delivery, social and ideological coalitions, clear political messaging, and dedicated management until the last vote is polled. The leaders of the INDIA bloc are seasoned politicians capable of reading the message and planning strategically to address emerging challenges.”  At the same time, he felt the results cannot whitewash the misdeeds and reckless actions of the ECI. On the other hand, AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami in a X post which has a tagline “Say YES to Women Safety”, said how on Nov 14 the people of Bihar had given a fitting response to the Congress-led INDI alliance, rejecting its falsehoods and attempts to undermine the institutions of democracy. In more ways than one, the Bihar verdict had ended uncertainties about the NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu. In fact, a group of AIADMK leaders were already in Patna on Nov 14 cheering for the NDA win. This is in contrast to the way Stalin had been mocking Biharis for flocking to Tamil Nadu for low skilled jobs.

Presence of mind by a Varanasi journalist resulted in the reunion of a four-year-old girl with her parents. The toddler was kidnapped from Mumbai in May this year. The Mumbai Police had launched two special search efforts called “Operation Shodh” (Operation Trace) to find the missing child. The breakthrough came when a local Hindi-speaking journalist alerted the authorities about a girl, speaking in Marathi, housed at a local children’s shelter. The girl and her family, originally from Solapur, were in Mumbai for her father’s medical treatment when she went missing on 20 May while playing in a crowded area. Mumbai police teams travelled to Uttar Pradesh time and again during their six-month investigation. The child had been left near Varanasi station by an unidentified suspected kidnapper. Local authorities placed her in the care of an orphanage, where staff members started calling her “Kashi.” After receiving the tip, Mumbai police confirmed her identity and later, the parents, too, identified their daughter over a video call before her physical reunion with them, incidentally on Children’s Day. Mumbai’s DCP Zone 1 Dr Pravin Mundhe and Senior Inspector Yogesh Sable led the investigations. The CCTV footage revealed that the kidnapper boarded a train from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus towards Uttar Pradesh. During the November 1 to 15 ‘Operation Shodh’ drive, the police distributed the girl’s photos, stuck posters all over Varanasi and published information in the local newspapers. That was when the breakthrough came. The kidnapper is still at large.

Various stories are doing the rounds about why the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) poor performance in the Bihar assembly elections has brought out fissures within the Lalu Yadav’s family out in the open. Internecine feuds at this juncture clearly reflect that the legatee war over Lalu Yadav’s political legacy have begun even as the RJD patriarch is alive and kicking. It simply shows that all is not well in the RJD first family. Of Lalu’s nine children, at least five including wife Rabri Devi are known to be politically active and ambitious. However, what has not gone down well with those watching the Bihar political scene is the manner in which Lalu’s Singapore-based daughter Rohini Acharya was forced to air her differences with her brother Tejashwi. According to sources, Tejashwi had an argument with Rohini on Nov 15 afternoon. In a summary of review of the defeat, Rohini told Tejashwi that they should respond to the party workers’ protests regarding Haryana-based Sanjay Yadav. The very mention of Sanjay Yadav, a close buddy to both Tejashwi and his wife, sparked an argument between Tejashwi and Rohini. Tejaswi told Rohini, “We lost the election because of you. We are cursed by you.” During the argument, Tejashwi angrily threw a slipper at his elder sister; he also abused her. Rohini, it is learnt, wanted to campaign in every assembly constituency in Saran but she was only allowed to go to Raghopur. In July 2023, a year before the Lok Sabha elections, Tejashwi had asked Rohini to contest from Saran. Post her father’s consent she expressed desire to contest from Pataliputra but Misa was reluctant. Ultimately, it was Saran. It is being said increasingly Sanjay Yadav was uncomfortable with Rohini’s political role and sees her as a threat to Tejashwi; he had even advised Rohini to leave politics.

The BJP government in Odisha led by Mohan Charan Majhi won the prestigious Nuapada bypoll. Its candidate Jay Dholakia won by over a margin of 83,748 votes polling 123,869 votes while Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi polled 40,121 votes and BJD’s Snehangini Chhuria 38,408 votes. BJD was relegated to the third position in spite of the fact Naveen Patnaik was personally campaigning. Shockingly, BJD’s vote share crashed to 18.8 % from 40.22% in 2024 when it won the assembly seat. Patnaik’s party BJD which dominated Odisha politics for over 24 years seems to be losing its hold. Political commentators say “Brand BJD has been eroded”. This clearly indicates that the BJP in Odisha is controlling the political narrative. One of the reasons for BJD’s downhill run is attributed to Naveen babu’s frail health, no succession planning thereby leading to infighting. This scenario led to some of the veteran BJD leaders crossing over to BJP. Political watchers say, BJD’s future cannot rest on Patnaik’s shoulder alone. This means BJD must resolve its leadership issues, inner-party contradictions and address the vacuum in its current leadership style.

Nothing has come more as a shock for the Congress than its meltdown in the Bihar assembly elections. The party which had 19 MLAs in the outgoing assembly didn’t expect a wash-out particularly after Rahul Gandhi had carried out a much-hyped ‘Voters Adhikar rally’ in September, with a common slogan: “Vote chor, gaddi chhod”. Of course, party sources concede that Rahul’s yatra had not resonated on the ground. In fact, many Congress leaders believe Rahul had focussed on non-issues “like vote chori” just to divert from people’s real problems. What has come as a shock for Bihar Congress leaders is that new entrants like Asauddin Owaisi’s AIMIM seemed to have fared well in Seemanchal leading in as many five seats, quite close to Congress’s own tally of six seats. Analysing the Bihar victory, PM Modi described the overwhelming mandate for the NDA– 204 seats out 243 as a vote for vikas, for development. Modi who invoked prayers to Chhati Mayya and took on Rahul for mocking Chhath Puja. It is learnt that Rahul is in Muscat.  Sources feel Congress party’s bad performance was because it could not get good seats to contest — of the 61 seats it got to contest, 32 were such seats that the Opposition had not won for the last three decades. Bihar Congress leaders also said party managers like Krishna Allavaru were completely not briefed about the quality of seats. Some also felt inordinate delay in seat-sharing and declaring Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate may have cost the secular alliance votes. As for the rout of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress sources say people find Tejashwi Yadav too arrogant. After the Bihar rout, Congress may not find many takers in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

With the Bihar election results clearly going in favour of the NDA and meltdown of the RJD, PM Modi said, “Bihar mein RJD ko saanp soongha hua hain” and then went on to add “I said during the Bihar elections, the conflict between the two parties will soon come to the fore” Today’s victory is the beginning of a new journey. I assure you that in the coming five years, Bihar will progress at a faster pace. The world will see Bihar’s new potential. A number of Muslim women had also voted for the NDA. Modi said “With the new government, the NDA is now moving forward towards a golden journey of 25 years in Bihar. Bihar has ensured that Jungle Raj will never return to this great land of Bihar. Today’s victory belongs to the youth of Bihar whose future was ruined by the terror of Congress and the Red Flag people. Today, that Red Corridor, those days of terror, are history. Bihar is moving forward on the path of development, and this journey is not going to stop now.” He congratulated the Election Commission, security forces and the conscious voters of Bihar. The Bihar elections have proven another thing. Now, the country’s voters, especially young voters, take voter list purification very seriously. And he said he plans to take Bihar’s message of Mahila & Youth empowerment to West Bengal. It’s interesting to see how the SIR plays out in this state.

Known as ‘Bihar’s Singham’ for making Patna a safe city for girls and women some years ago, former IPS officer Shivdeep Lande’s attempt at transition from Khaki to Khadi has been foiled by that state’s voters in the two assembly constituencies he chose to test his luck from. Born in a farmer family from Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Lande cracked the UPSC tests to join the IPS in 2006. His first posting was in the Naxal-infested Munger district of Bihar. It became sensational owing to his incredible feats, one after another. But his popularity was at its peak when he took over as Patna SP. The anti-social elements in Bihar’s capital used to tremble to even hear his name. Lande was married in 2014 to Mamata Shivtare, the daughter of a Shiv Sena leader and then minister, Vijay Shivtare. After serving in Bihar, Lande returned to Maharashtra and resigned from the police force. In April this year, Lande floated his own political party, the Hind Sena, and announced that he will field candidates in all 243 seats. However, he himself contested from two constituencies – Jamalpur and Araria – where he had earlier served and amassed popularity. While pollster Prashant Kishor’s defeat has been highlighted by the media, Lande’s decimation has been ignored, more or less, once again proving the adage that a politician is born, not made.

The BJP’s emphatic victory in Bihar has prompted the party leadership to project confidence about replicating the outcome in West Bengal in 2026. Yet, despite the celebratory rhetoric, the ground situation in Bengal presents a far more complex—and arguably unfavourable—terrain for the saffron party. Buoyed by Bihar, senior leaders such as Union ministers Giriraj Singh, Sukanta Majumdar, who was the former state president have asserted that the mandate reflects a decisive shift toward the BJP. Singh, who has previously had several direct confrontations with the TMC, stated unequivocally that with Bihar delivering its mandate, Bengal would be next, as the people of the state are growing increasingly dissatisfied with chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Majumder, meanwhile, likened the TMC regime to what he described as a shadow of the “jungle raj” associated with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s era. However, analysts argue that such comparisons reveal more political impatience than electoral realism. A section of political analysts pointed out that Bihar’s outcome was shaped by pro-incumbency and by the NDA’s existing administrative footing—advantages the BJP does not enjoy in Bengal. The TMC’s long tenure, rather than weakening it, has consolidated its organisational strength, particularly across the rural belt where nearly 70% of the state’s electorate resides. While the BJP has succeeded in capturing segments of the urban vote with its Hindutva messaging and pro-industry posture, it continues to lag the TMC’s 48% vote share by a significant margin. More critically, the party has yet to develop a robust grassroots network capable of countering the TMC’s deeply entrenched cadre structure built since 2011, when Mamata rode the Singur and Nandigram land movements to power.

The resounding victory of the NDA and the BJP in the Bihar assembly election will result in scripting the future prospects of many individuals. Although the focus will remain on PM Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, there are many more who have influenced the outcome to some degree, according to the assignments entrusted to them. Prominent among them are Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. There are several reasons for his glee at the results, a fabulous achievement for the saffron outfit. Fadnavis found time to visit Bihar to campaign for NDA’s Bihar candidates while handling various tricky situations in the state. Agitations by Maratha and OBC leaders, the flood devastation, the opposition attacks and daily problems concerning law and order had been taking much of his time. Known to be working till 2 am every night and starting his next day at 7 am, Fadnavis planned his Bihar sojourn carefully and gave a series of campaign speeches in Bihar’s 61 assembly constituencies spread over seven districts. To his delight, 49 of these seats have been bagged by the BJP. Expectedly, he was lambasted by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi for ‘abandoning’ Maharashtra which needed his attention. However, those who knew Fadnavis ignored this criticism. The Bihar victory has further consolidated his firm political clout. No doubt, BJP rank and file has started expressing confidence that the coming local body elections will be a cakewalk for the party. But Fadnavis is cautious.

Nothing has more shaken the incumbent Modi government than the blasts near Red Fort. The blasts shook the national capital after a gap of 14 years. PM Narendra Modi, who is away on a two-day visit to Bhutan conveyed his resolve to punish those involved in the blasts. Warning that the horrific blast in Delhi on November 10 evening has deeply pained everyone. India stands with those who have suffered, PM Modi said “I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy. All those involved will be brought to justice.” He spoke both in Hindi and English from Bhutan reminding many political watchers of his utterances before Operation Sindoor. In fact, it is believed that the nation could well be on the verge of launching Operation Sindoor 2 as agencies uncover the real perpetrators. It is felt Pakistan may feel encouraged to experiment with some misadventure as it enjoys unstinted backing of the U.S. President Donald Trump. Modi has held extensive consultations with Home Minister Amit Shah. Shah has already held four meetings with security agencies. The government will not proceed with any Op Sindoor till security agencies neutralise all jihadi networks in the country. Interestingly, the Al-Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana where the suicide bomber and his colleagues worked was set up in 2015. There are also reports that Umar made trips to Tamil Nadu.

The Maharashtra government’s proposal to translocate leopards, combined with the killing of a leopard in Pune after it was labelled a man-eater, has raised deep concern among environmentalists, who say these responses signal a governance failure in forest and land-use planning. Instead of addressing the factors that push wildlife into human spaces — shrinking habitats, fragmented corridors, unmanaged waste and unregulated expansion into forest-edge zones — the state is opting for short-term actions that risk intensifying conflict rather than resolving it. Leopards are territorial animals that play a stabilising role in ecosystems. When a resident leopard is killed or relocated, its territory does not remain vacant; another leopard moves in, often younger, stressed, and more unpredictable. Studies from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttarakhand show that relocated leopards frequently attempt to return to familiar terrain, travelling through villages and farms and increasing the potential for human encounters. National wildlife guidelines therefore caution against translocation as a routine conflict response. Environmentalists say lessons must be drawn from the cheetah introduction effort in Kuno, where animals struggled to adapt despite extensive planning. Wildlife cannot simply be shifted and expected to adjust; ecosystems require continuity, stable habitat and respect for territorial behaviour. NatConnect Foundation has escalated the issue to the Prime Minister’s Office. The Foundation hopes he will step in to ensure Maharashtra shifts from reactive “animal removal” measures to long-term forest and corridor management, waste regulation, humane stray animal control and trained rapid-response teams. Killing or shifting wildlife is not management — it is symptom control. Environmental advocate Jyoti Nadkarni said: “The leopard is an essential part of the food chain and the wider food web. Removing it disturbs a balance far more complex than we acknowledge. We must think before...

The ownership of 14 villages claimed by the Maharashtra and Telangana governments has been under dispute in Chandrapur district which is along the border of the two states. While the revenue department of the Maharashtra government is the claimant of the villages, the same are under the forest department of the Telangana government. The issue has a long history. According to authorities in Maharashtra, the Supreme Court has ruled in its favour. Nonetheless, the resolution of the matter is still awaiting a final outcome. Over the years, the villages in Jivti tehsil of Maharashtra occupy nearly 15,000 acres of land. The Maharashtra authorities complain that the villages have been shown by Telangana as part of its territory. Telangana’s Asifabad district forest authorities have been looking after the green cover in the area. Meanwhile, the villagers are reported to be exercising their voting rights in both states. The villages have been at the centre of the dispute, with residents often living under dual administration and having voting rights in both states. Finally, in July 2025, the Maharashtra government has announced that it has started the process to merge these 14 villages into the state’s jurisdiction. While some residents have asked to remain in Telangana to access its welfare schemes, Maharashtra’s stance is that the villages are predominantly Marathi-speaking. Due to the lack of a clear administrative structure, the villages have two sarpanchs, two Gram Panchayats and separate schools for Marathi and Telugu speakers. The issue has been holding fire but no immediate solution is forthcoming.

The BJP central leadership is watching with interest the tantrums that its former Tamil Nadu state president K Annamalai is throwing. Even as he dismissed reports that he may launch a new party, it seems Annamalai may not last in the BJP for long. He expressed his discontent by saying none can put a gun to one’s head and force a person to remain in a party. Annamalai has been sulking ever since Nainar Nagendran replaced him as TN BJP president in April this year. Sources in BJP headquarters say Annamalai has been working overtime to undermine Nainar and weaken the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Though he officially maintains that “the NDA should win” the 2026 Assembly elections, it is being said he is not comfortable with the idea of AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) clinching a win. He is also known to have played a role in bringing together former AIADMK leaders like VK Sasikala, KA Sengottaiyan and O Panneerselvam. More than these disparate groups of former AIADMK leaders, Annamalai’s real interest is in floating a new party and striking an alliance with actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). With Vijay recently declaring that the 2026 Assembly elections would be a contest only between the TVK and the DMK, virtually writing off the AIADMK-BJP alliance, Annamalai may feel more encouraged to float his own outfit. But then the future of leaders who have quit the BJP to launch their own outfit has not been very bright. From late Kalyan Singh (UP) to BS Yediyurappa (Karnataka) to Shankersinh Vaghela (Gujarat). They have all floundered. Meanwhile, the ruling DMK is also welcoming into its fold former AIADMK leaders such as PH Manoj Pandian, son of former Speaker PH Pandian. Pandian charged AIADMK of “functioning as an extension of the BJP.”

Political controversy has intensified in West Bengal over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls after a report in Jago Bangla, the official mouthpiece of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), claimed that chief minister Mamata Banerjee had personally accepted the SIR Enumeration Form. In response, Didi clarified that she had not personally received the form. In a social media post, she explained that the designated Booth Level Officer had visited her neighbourhood and residential office, made routine inquiries about the number of voters in the household, and left the forms accordingly. She added that she had not filled out her form and that she would do so only after every eligible person in Bengal had completed theirs. Earlier this week, Didi led a protest march from Red Road to Jorasanko Thakurbari, terming the ongoing process “SIR terror” and urging citizens to remain cautious. The Opposition BJP criticised Mamata’s clarification, accusing her of double standards. Former state BJP president and Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumder stated that the CM’s actions contradicted her public position and claimed that she had accepted several forms despite urging people not to cooperate with the process. Senior TMC leaders rejected the allegations, describing them as politically motivated attempts to discredit the CM’s campaign against the SIR. Party functionaries said the report about Didi personally receiving the form was misleading and aimed at undermining the ongoing movement. According to party sources, Mamata is planning to take the issue beyond Bengal and raise it at the national level. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has already indicated that the party will intensify its protests in the coming weeks.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is finding himself in hot water following the allegations against his son Parth in connection with a massive land deal in Pune involving hundreds of crores of rupees. Noted social activist Anna Hazare’s spirited attack against the Pawar clan has added another dimension to the suspicious deal. The web of doubt around the father-son duo is becoming thicker since Ajit has claimed that he is unaware of the transactions conducted by his son, “an adult and running his own business.” As chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a thorough enquiry into the serious charges, Ajit has gone on the defensive. Hazare’s stinging statement about the ‘culture of Baramati’ has an indirect past reference to the developments when then chief minister Sharad Pawar was facing grave allegations regarding several land deals under the civic development plan for Mumbai. Later, the allegations were declared unfounded by an inquiry committee. Incidentally, Hazare was at the forefront of levelling the allegations, along with controversial municipal officer GR Khairnar. Obliquely referring to those events, Hazare has remarked that the family and the culture of a particular place are responsible for occurrence of such deeds. In a guarded response, Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, MP, has sided with Parth. The DCM is finding it difficult to defend or criticise, given the perceived role of Parth. The scandal’s fallout will have a bearing on the strategy for the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra, weakening Ajit’s bargaining stakes.

Top BJP leader Ashish Shelar has been entrusted with the responsibility of the coming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election by the BJP, underscoring the importance of the electoral fight considered the decisive battle for the existence of the Shiv Sena (UBT). Although Andheri MLA Amit Satam was appointed Mumbai BJP chief just a month ago, his predecessor Shelar has been reassigned this assignment given the enormity of the challenge. Of late, Shelar has been mounting one attack after another against Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress party, main partners of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The BJP is determined to wrest the BMC’s control from the arch rival Shiv Sena, which is not joined by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray. The two organisations are trying their best to lure the Marathi-speaking population’s vote by constantly harping on the ‘outsider’ tag against several BJP bigwigs, who are from Gujarat or north India. This has put the Congress party in a quandary, given the Bihar assembly election voting, forcing its top leaders to stay away from a joint morcha taken out by the two cousins. By next week, the picture is expected to be clear on this count. Nonetheless, the BJP is going ahead as the main constituent of the Mahayuti under the stewardship of Ashish Shelar, who knows Mumbai like the back of his hand.

In a major political development in Odisha, senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) strategist and former Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik has quit BJD after serving it for seven years and joined the BJP ahead of the prestigious Nuapada assembly bypoll slated on November 11. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJD’s Rajendra Dholakia, four-time MLA and a former cabinet minister. In an interesting twist of turn, the late Dholakia’s son Jay is fighting from his father’s constituency on a BJP ticket. Naveen Patnaik headed BJD has fielded Snehangini Chhuria. BJP which is keen to win this prestigious seat has given a carte blanche to  Amar Patnaik to campaign for Jay Dholakia. Amar Patnaik’s decision to join the BJP is more than an individual move, sources say—it’s a signpost of a deeper realignment in the state’s power structure. His exit lays bare the widening cracks within the BJD, sources say. His joining BJP is now seen as a fresh blow to BJD as the Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi is determined to win the three-cornered BJP-BJD-Congress battle where BJD’s Naveen Patnaik and Congress Bhaktahari Mahatab’s are campaigning.

The Rs 1000-crore Sub Inspector Recruitment Scam in Odisha seems to have put the former chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his party, Biju Janata Dal on the backfoot. The mastermind Shankar Prusty (32), who is the leader of a syndicate involved in leaking the SI recruitment question papers, has been arrested by the Odisha state crime branch near Nepal border. Brought back to Bhubaneswar he is singing like a canary. According to him “this scam is worth at least Rs 1,000 crore” So far, BJD has denied any connection with this scam. However, the BJP terms BJD’s denial saying “chor machaye shor”. BJP says the contract for the recruitment process was signed during Patnaik’s tenure. But, the general public is asking what prevented BJP which was making big changes in the state to deep dive into Sub-Inspector recruitment issues and procedures immediately when they came to power? So far, the initial investigation report however  says the scamsters collected original certificates and blank cheques from aspirants in exchange of leaked papers, wherein the aspirants were charged Rs 20-25 lakh per candidate. The main accused Prusty has been interrogated in the presence of Munna Mohanty, his close associate to unravel the truth. Sources say both Mohanty and Prusty had reportedly amassed significant assets through recruitment scam. The SI scam gained further momentum after the arrest of Odisha’s Silicon Tech owner Suresh Chandra Nayak.

The electoral rolls for the forthcoming local self-government elections in Maharashtra will be updated up till two days before the elections. Since the state election commission is not equipped to delete duplicate names in the electoral rolls, it has devised a completely new system to identify and pinpoint duplication and try to nip instances of duplicate voting in multiple constituencies by voters. Maharashtra’s electoral department has been at the receiving end with complaints of large-scale duplications and discrepancies in electoral rolls by almost all political parties including the ruling BJP. There have been shocking claims of 127 names listed against the official address of the commissioner of the Navi Mumbai municipal corporation and also voter’s address registered as a public toilet block. Incidentally, the recent parliamentary and assembly elections were held with these discrepancies in the electoral rolls and the EC hopes that this new affidavit system will hopefully prevent the corrupt practice of voting duplication. There has been open admission of grave mistakes in rolls. Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad had also claimed that there were over a lakh bogus-voters in his home constituency including 20,000 bogus voters which had not been deleted despite official complaints. Ruling party legislators like Vilas Bhumre had boasted from political dais about how they managed to get the winning edge thanks to voters being brought in from outside their constituency. The Opposition parties had been demanding that local polls be postponed and held only after cleaning up the electoral rolls. However, the state election department has chosen to go ahead with their schedule and stick to the Supreme Court deadline of January, 2026.

The BJP-run Odisha government seems to be facing the wrath of the Supreme Court. This is because they have failed to take action on mining companies who have over-mined iron resources –in excess of their environmental clearances. The apex court has now put the onus on the Odisha government to enforce recovery against erring mining companies and present a status report by December 1, 2025. The Supreme Court stance is clear — the defaulting mining lessees must bear the consequences of over mining and cannot go scot-free pocketing the value of illegal mined ores. Sources say, the outstanding amount currently stands at Rs 2,700 crore plus accrued interest. The Supreme Court is now insisting on a 100% penalty on the value of illegally mined ore earlier. How will the state government act on the Supreme Court’s directive as this issue has been pending since 2018? The key issue is twofold: one, how the Odisha government will enforce recovery orders against erring mining companies with regard to compensation and second, how capping of iron ore mining would lead to substantial deficit of production of steel and other metals in view of growing market demand. Incidentally, Odisha contributes to half of the country’s iron ore production. Both the Centre, and State governments have urged the Supreme Court not to impose a cap on iron ore mining in Odisha, warning it could derail India’s growth story and Atmanirbhar Bharat mission.

What it means is hard to fathom even for the literate Malayalee. But Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in front of a capacity crowd of CPM cadres in Thiruvananthapuram alongside film star Mammootty, announced that the poverty free achievement confirms with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of “No poverty and zero hunger”. As per latest World Bank criteria, people living on less than $ 3 a day are considered to be living in extreme poverty. In order to achieve this, Kerala took the multi-dimensional poverty index route — which incorporates nutritious food, housing, cleanliness, education and basic facilities. The government claims that it has addressed all the reasons for extreme poverty like housing, livelihood, issues, ill-health due to chronic diseases and lack of access to government welfare schemes on a war footing, since 2021. While the LDF government has gone to town with its celebrations both at the ground level and media, critics and the opposition are questioning the very methodology used to arrive at the findings. In an open letter 24 signatories comprising social activists, economists and prominent media personalities have urged the State government to release an authoritative study report that identifies the extreme poor and validates the poverty eradication process. It is too early to predict whether the entire poverty free exercise is a hyperbole campaign with an eye on the ensuing Municipal elections next month and assembly elections next year or a genuine effort to eradicate extreme poverty in the state. As per 2011 census figures, there were 4.85 lakh tribal people, many of them living in extreme poverty. Yet, in the new estimates only 64,006 have been classified as extremely poor. “What magic has happened to alleviate their poverty, “questions the opposition and the elite group!

Reports of a close contest between the NDA and Mahagathbandhan in Bihar polls have led to leaders resorting to a unique style to grab eyeballs and attention. With the last day of campaign closing in on Nov 4 for the first phase poll on Nov 6, both sides seemed to be putting their best foot forward and sharpening political attacks. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath compared the bonding of Rahul Gandhi-Tejaswi Yadav-Akhilesh Yadav to Gandhi’s three monkeys as Pappu,Tappu and Appu. Interestingly, on a day PM Modi was holding a road show in Patna (Nov 2), Rahul, away from the state capital, in Begusarai, while interacting with fishermen, jumped into the pond for fishing. He was accompanied by VIP leader Mukesh Sahani, who is also from the Nishad/fishermen community and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar. Incidentally Rahul’s fishing optics seemed odd as it came in the backdrop of him charging the PM of “doing yoga asanas” for a few votes. And had warned voters that post elections all the “song and dance will be done by Adani and Ambani”. Modi, at a rally in Katihar on Nov 3, reiterated that the NDA government after being voted to power would hand out fishermen an allowance of Rs 9000. Incidentally, Lalu’s eldest son Tej Pratap Yadav, who heads Janshakti Janata Dal took a dig at Rahul’s fishing trip saying “Jalebi chhanna, machli pakadna, unko toh rasoiya hona chaiye tha(He makes sweets, catches fish, he should have been a cook) Why did he become a politician?”

Strange political formations are occurring in Maharashtra’s sport arena despite appeals from all concerned that the two should not be mixed. At the centre of these developments are veteran leader Sharad Pawar, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, representing the important political parties in the state. Elections to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and the Maharashtra Olympic Association (MOA) are due in the near future. For the cricket body, Sharad Pawar and Fadnavis are reportedly in tandem. Pawar’s recent praise of Fadnavis for ‘keeping politics out of sports’ has raised many eyebrows. While these four leaders are insistent for election of their close followers on MCA, another shade is added by another deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who is trying to induct Vihang Sarnaik, son of minister Pratap Sarnaik, the buyer of the first Tesla car in India. Ajit Pawar is peeved since his 13-year tenure as MOA president has come under severe criticism by Union minister of state Murlidhar Mohol and BJP MLC Sandip Joshi. The duo had levelled several allegations, all of which have been refuted by Ajit Pawar, who has pointed out that he is dedicated to the MOA’s interests and that the charges are made by politicians, not by any players. These developments have come at a time when the state is gearing up to hold the local body elections, including in Mumbai and Pune, the centres of the two skirmishes.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut will be out of action for at least two months, he himself has conveyed through a social media post. Raut had been spearheading the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) campaign against the ruling Mahayuti alliance government in Maharashtra ever since it was first formed in 2022. Derided as a Bhonga (loudspeaker) by his political critics, Raut made a daily appearance on TV news channels almost every morning.  Counted among close aides of Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, the ‘Saamana’ executive editor has announced that he will be away from public life for the next two months due to health issues. The announcement has come as a dampener for the Sena and MVA since no immediate replacement is in sight, especially as it comes on the eve of the crucial BMC election, which will determine the future of the Uddhav Sena and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. In his emotional message titled “A humble request to all friends, family and workers,” Raut has urged the Sena supporters to continue their faith in him during this difficult period. “As per medical advice, I have been advised against going out and mingling with crowds. There is no way around it. I am sure I will recover well and come to meet you in the new year. May your love and blessings remain with me,” he has said in his post.

With eye on 2026 Assembly polls, the BJP in West Bengal is rethinking its strategy whether to bank, once again, on “glamour quotient” that helped thrust its women’s wing into the limelight or fall back on its loyal, traditional cadre base following a string of electoral disappointments? The internal debate follows the party’s underwhelming performance in West Bengal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. From 2015 to 2021, the BJP Mahila Morcha was led by Roopa Ganguly, Locket Chatterjee, and Agnimitra Paul, all from the film and fashion industry. Their tenure brought visibility through protests and media outreach. Roopa Ganguly, now on the Narrative Committee, is likely to contest in 2026. Locket Chatterjee, despite losses in 2021 and 2024, remains influential and was praised for her role in the Uttarakhand 2022 polls. Agnimitra Paul, MLA from Asansol South and close to Suvendu Adhikari, lost the 2024 Medinipur seat but is expected to contest again. Their successors, Tanuja Chakraborty and Falguni Patra, both long-time BJP workers, failed to match that prominence. During the RG Kar Hospital protests, Patra’s leadership drew limited attention. A former general secretary admitted the Mahila Morcha had become “a launching pad for women from the glamour world.” Actors Payel Sarkar, Srabanti Chatterjee, Tanushree Chakraborty, Parno Mitra, and Papiya Adhikari all contested and lost. Rupanjana Mitra returned to the Trinamool Congress, citing disillusionment. Agnimitra Paul said fame helped connect with voters, while Keya Ghosh recalled that “media attention naturally follows famous faces,” citing an incident when “police tore Locket’s saree.” With glamour yet to translate into votes, the BJP is now moving cautiously. Under the State President Shamik Bhattacharya, it plans to blend visible figures with grassroots leaders as it prepares to challenge the Trinamool Congress in 2026.

Former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin joined the Telangana government on October 31, barely 10 days ahead of Jubilee Hills assembly by-election to be held on November 11. Azhar’s elevation as minister is being widely seen as an attempt to secure the support of Muslim community — about 1.3 lakh voters for the Congress in the high-stakes contest. Congress high command also wanted Azharuddin’s induction ahead of Bihar assembly elections. It is likely that as minister, Azhar will get a couple of days to campaign in Bihar. “Azhar’s entry will help us consolidate Muslim votes. Not just in Telangana but also in Bihar. Hyderabad MP and AIMIM leader Asauddin Owaisi, who is opposing us in Bihar has endorsed his elevation,” points out senior Congress leader Madhu Goud Yaskhi. Owaisi’s support for Azhar and the Congress is important at this stage as Telangana CM Revanth Reddy is keen to wrest the Jubilee Hills seat. Incidentally, Azhar had lost from Jubilee Hills in 2023 to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The by-election has been caused following the death of three term BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath. Even though BRS is not in a great shape at present, it has fielded Gopinath’s widow, Sunitha as its candidate hoping to cash in on a sympathy wave. As a Minister Azhar, he will enter the Telangana legislature as a MLC and that will be possible only after the Supreme Court paves the way. In August, the apex court had suspended the functioning of two MLCs, holding that their swearing-in under the governor’s quota was not valid and was based on a misinterpretation of its interim order. Meanwhile, did Azhar’s entry upset traditional Muslim leaders of the Congress? Not many leaders left anyway. Barring exception of Md Shabeer Ali, say sources.

Tamil Nadu is so typical in many ways…cinema and stars, “fanatic fans, cinemaholics” are part of the culture. Rajini, Kamal and Vijay have mind boggling fan clubs. What if we tell you that police sniffer dogs in Coimbatore too have “fan clubs”and crooks are familiar with their names, to tease the police even as they indulge in prank calls and hoax threats with criminal intent? Just as the police move two steps ahead in crime patrol, these fringe elements lead by four steps with outsmarting strategies. Recently, a bomb threat call in Coimbatore rattled the keepers of law and order …but the hoaxers had boned up on the names of the canines and threw the gauntlet…we have planted a bomb. Better bring Wilma or Madhana to “fetch” the bombs. Wilma, a German Shepherd and the Belgian Shepherd Madhana were the first to be assigned to female handlers and trainers –Kavipriya and Bhavani. In 2023, Bhavani requested the top brass to let her take on as a dog handler, and these two women have cared for and trained their charges like their own children. The pranksters boldly name these sniffer dogs in the “fake” threats, to give a sense of authenticity to their threat calls. But the police are inventive …the commands barked at the canines are obeyed instantly …and this famous Doberman Pinscher who walks on his hinds backward (as elegantly as a Gucci ramp model) is waiting for that command…go get him. To have fun with rowdies. Police dogs don’t roll over for all, to be petted.

The Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is one clear candidate in the reckoning who wishes to be elevated as the next BJP President. He is so coveting the top job that it is being said that both he and family are invoking blessings of the gods to secure it. On an official visit last week to Vellore, Tamil Nadu Chouhan was seen along with his wife Sadhna Singh offering special prayers at Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple in Vellore. The buzz in party circles is that the idea of offering prayers could probably be Sadhna Singh’s idea as she has been keen that Chouhan get more heft in his career by making a switch to an important party post. His family clearly sees that he would perhaps be wielding far more clout as BJP chief than as a member of the Modi Cabinet 3.0. As a four-term Madhya Pradesh CM and a prominent OBC face he would certainly fit the bill. Chouhan had also met with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Officially Chouhan has maintained that he “never ever thought of nor has anyone told me.  I can’t even think of it. I am the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister. I am doing this work like worship. Serving farmers is worship of God for me and I want to keep doing this worship.” He moved to the Centre as a Union Minister only after securing Madhya Pradesh for a record fifth time in 2023 assembly polls. In Vellore, he participated in Maha Chandi Havan for world peace.

Both Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar (DKS) are locked in an intense battle to wrest control of the State. Siddaramaiah fancies he will continue as the CM because of the loyalty and support of the majority of 138 elected Congress MLAs in 224 member House. DKS feels he should be the CM since as PCC chief he had ensured that the Congress swept to power in the 2023 assembly elections. Besides, DKS is confident that High Command will back him. It may be recalled when he was jailed in a ED case and Sonia Gandhi had visited him in Tihar.  If DKS plays the High Command card, Siddaramaiah is no push over either. As a CM, he is dangling the Cabinet reshuffle card to keep MLAs by his side. He also used his MLC son Dr Yathindra to prop up PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi — a tribal leader — as an ideological heir to his father. Jarkiholi was apparently used as a perfect foil to block AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge who is now very keen to become the CM. It is being said DKS has assured Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge, who is state IT minister to back him and has assured him that he could become Deputy CM in his team. It is being said Karnataka drama would play out only after November 14– that is after Bihar poll results. Meanwhile, the political struggle of oneupmanship between DKS and Siddaramaiah has brought Karnataka administration to a standstill. Siddaramaiah who favours Mysuru over Bengaluru, doesn’t care much for the software capital of India.

Barely a week is left for campaigning for the first phase of election in Bihar to end on November 4 and the first phase of voting is slated for November 6. However, former Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has not visited Bihar even once in the last two months. Rahul was last seen in Bihar on September 1 while concluding his ‘Voters’ Adhikar Yatra’.  With his Vote Chori campaign not making much impact with voters in the state, it appears Rahul has steered away from the state. Rahul’s absence from the political scene has also become a talking point for the ruling alliance. Mocking him for his claims to explode a hydrogen bomb (by giving further proof of vote theft), JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar wondered why Rahul was avoiding Bihar. “That too at a time when all the top leaders, be it PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, several Union Ministers and even RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav have been tirelessly campaigning for their respective nominees.” For once Rahul Gandhi’s critics may have a valid point. That is because in the election season even Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is not keeping good health, has been addressing one rally after another to shore up the winning chances of the NDA nominees. “We too are perplexed over the long absence of Rahul”, said a NDA leader. Notably, the Congress is contesting on 61 seats while the RJD 143. Sources in the Congress say Rahul is reportedly miffed with the way seat-sharing was done in Bihar. It is being said Rahul Gandhi would be addressing a joint rally with Tejashwi Yadav on October 29 in Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.

All eyes are on Odisha’s high voltage triangular seat contest for the Nuapada Assembly bypoll to be held on November 11. The ruling BJP and opposition BJD, Congress have made this bypoll a prestigious issue. If BJP loses then there will be a question mark on the popularity of Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s leadership. If Naveen Patnaik’s BJD loses it would indicate Patnaik’s popularity as the Leader of Opposition is waning. Even though Patnaik would like his party to win this one, he has not gone whole hog for the fear of inviting BJP’s wrath vis a vis launching probe into financials of his BJD. It is learnt that Patnaik is opting for soft strategy, basically, eyeing the 12% SC votes and deliberately not playing the tribal card and opting to play SC card instead by fielding heavy weight Snehangini Chhuria.  Congress on its part is now playing up the tribal card and is hoping to win this seat. Now all eyes on the November 11 outcome.

The Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is working out of the War Room. That’s because PM Modi has asked him to ensure super arrangements for the annual Chhath festival in Eastern India, which coincides with Skanda Sasti in Tamil Nadu falling on October 27-28. All trains to Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh are full because families are returning to their villages to celebrate this festival. Outside some stations in many states, nearly 2 km long queues of travellers have been seen. Indian Railways has made arrangements to run 13,000 special trains, but these are unable to cope with the rush. As Bihar goes to elections soon after the festival, Modi told the Railway Minister to ensure everything runs smoothly. So, Vaishnaw is sitting in the three war rooms at Rail Bhavan to monitor crowd management and train locations. These three war rooms monitor the movement of crowds at 35 top stations round the clock using CCTV cameras. Minute-to-minute data are being prepared, and a heat map is being developed. Every hour, footfall in at least 35 stations is recorded. Special trains are immediately sent to stations where huge crowds are noticed. In one case, when the minister noticed a huge rush at Ambala station in Haryana for a train going from Amritsar to Purnea, another train was dispatched from Jalandhar to accommodate extra passengers. Crowds were also noticed in Surat and Udhna stations in Gujarat. More than five million people travelled during Diwali and Chhath this year compared to last year. The only difference this time is that Indian Railways is trying its best to take care of travellers.

Remarriages among the elite muslim community in Kerala are in vogue these days. It is not everlasting love between spouses which is prompting this new trend, but to ensure their hard-earned wealth and properties remain with their children after their demise. What began as a few isolated remarriages is rapidly becoming a powerful movement that questions the long-held authority of religious organisations over personal lives. For generations, the unequal division of property, where sons inherit twice as much as daughters, has been justified as divine law. Couples, who all along accepted this without questioning, are rewriting the narrative. They are using secular legal frameworks to ensure that their daughters and wives are treated as equals. Defying century-old patriarchal interpretations of personal law, a growing number of muslim couples are turning to the Special Marriages Act (Section 15) to secure equal inheritance rights for women. One of the latest to take this step is 76-year old Basheer and 72-year old Hasanath from Palakkad. They remarried to ensure that their daughters get equal share in property. “This is not a rebellion against faith. It is a demand for justice within it,” says Neju, State Convener of Forum for Gender Equality Among Muslims. Neju was one of the first to get remarried to her husband, Ismail, as early as December 10, 2024. “After our marriage, many approached us quietly to know how they could do the same. Hundreds of couples have already chosen this path to avoid pressure from Mahal committees and to protect the future of their daughters.” Prominent Islamic scholar C H Musthafa Moulavi revealed that he knows of a prominent Islamic leader who remarried under the SMA to safeguard his daughters. The current system is unfair to women. In Egypt and Tunisia, where Islamic law is followed, inheritance is distributed equally. 

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s internal problems came to the fore during Diwali. As Yogi gathered in Ayodhya on October 19 to celebrate Deepotsav, the focus was not on festivities but the absence of his Deputy CMs Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya. It sparked talk of a rift in the UP BJP and differences between the bureaucracy and BJP legislators. While people close to Maurya said his busy schedule in Bihar, which goes to polls next month, for his last-minute cancellation — the Deputy CM is the party’s co-in-charge in the Assembly polls — party leaders blamed an administrative mix-up. “It is the first Deepotsav in nine years that Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak has missed. While no one is saying anything officially, the miscommunication has to be looked into. There was no mention of the Deputy CMs in the advertisement for the celebrations. Not just that, it was not clear which event they would attend and where they would sit, as per the protocol. The same was true of the Governor (Anandiben Patel), whose name was missing from the local invite. The BJP’s loss in UP in the Lok Sabha elections last year sparked speculation about differences within the party’s state unit. Several leaders in the state unit also took note of Maurya’s appointment as the party’s Bihar poll co-incharge in September, months after Union Home Minister Amit Shah referred to him as “mere mitr (my friend)”. It is being said Maurya’s involvement in Bihar polls would give a boost to him ahead of UP assembly polls. It must be mentioned that Yogi is the most sought campaigner in Bihar polls. Meanwhile, Ayodhya once again lit up the world stage with a record-breaking celebration of Deepotsav 2025, illuminating the sacred city with over 26 lakh oil lamps.

Tamil Nadu can only be shocked! Kerala’s ruling LDF is witnessing one of its fiercest internal flare-ups in recent times, with the CPI openly rebelling against its senior partner, the CPI(M), over the “discreet” signing of the MoU for implementing the Union government’s Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme. The CPI, caught completely off guard by the revelation that the agreement with the Union Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education and Literacy was inked on October 23, accused the CPI(M) of breaching front discipline and keeping allies in the dark. In a dramatic policy reversal, on October 19, the CPI(M) — one of the fiercest critics of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 — took that surprising U-turn. After years of vehement opposition to the Union government’s PM-SHRI scheme, which mandates the implementation of NEP, the Left-ruled Kerala decided to join the initiative. It’s learnt that on October 23, Kerala Education Secretary Dr K Vasuki flew to New Delhi to ink the MoU on behalf of the state. She was accompanied by Dr AR Supriya, Director of Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK), whose funds had earlier been frozen by the Centre due to Kerala’s refusal to join PM-SHRI. The decision could unlock nearly Rs 1,500 crore in central funds previously withheld by the Union government. The “secret manner” in which the MoU got signed has snowballed into a full-blown political controversy. The CPI has accused the CPI(M) of violating coalition etiquette and undermining collective decision-making. The Union Ministry of Education welcomed the Kerala government’s decision to sign the MoU, terming it a major milestone in transforming the state’s school education landscape. However, as the CPI and CPI(M) stick to their position, Kerala’s ruling front faces a crisis. Will the storm over PM SHRI shake the very foundations of the Left’s coalition experiment? 

Alleged suicide by a woman doctor working at a government hospital at Phaltan in Maharashtra’s Satara district has shaken the state since the name of a Member of Parliament is said to be connected with the development. There is no confirmation of this information from the police but the political undertones behind the drastic action are slowly becoming known. The deceased had written a note on the backside of her palm, clearly blaming a police sub inspector and another person. The PSI, Gopal Badne, has been suspended forthwith while investigations are underway to unravel different angles of the tragedy. The death occurred in a hotel room on October 23 night. In her suicide note, the victim wrote that Badne raped her four times over the past five months. The other individual, Prashant Bankar, had been mentally torturing her, she grieved. In view of the gravity of the incident, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called SP Tushar Doshi and ordered the suspension. As of now, the identity of the MP is unknown although it is whispered that he had spoken with the doctor on a couple of occasions though from the mobile handsets belonging to some other persons. It is also alleged that she had been resisting pressure from certain police personnel and political workers who were demanding favourable medical reports from her in certain matters. The police have not corroborated any such social media posts while her body has been sent for a post mortem.

A public admission by senior BJP minister Chandrashekhar Bawankhule that mobile and WhatsApp communication of BJP cadres in Buldhana were under surveillance, has sparked much uproar in Maharashtra. Though the senior leader later clarified that he was simply referring to the one lakh WhatsApp groups of their party’s booth leaders which are linked to their party’s war room. These WhatsApp groups, he claimed, were monitored to gauge public sentiment and determine party policies and were the sole mode of communication between the party and its cadres, it gave ample ammunition to the Opposition which raked up the party’s link with Pegasus and even suggested that the Opposition and coalition leaders too were under watch. The admission comes at a time when the disciplined party has been agog with internal rifts threatening to embarrass the party and its senior leadership. In Solapur, the party cadres held public protests opposing the entry of Dilip Mane, an ex-legislator from another party. In Pune, the party’s senior union minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol has been at the receiving end with allegations of corrupt deals. Though the sustained attack is from a Shinde-aide Ravindra Dhangekar, the general buzz is that the allegations are being fed from his own party. All this comes at a time when the party’s senior most leader in Maharashtra, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been emphasizing regularly that he would be very much around in the state till the next elections in 2029. He has been trying to nip a strong buzz that he would be shunted to the Centre from the top post in the state. The BJP has also been battling friction within its coalition partners emphasising that partners must follow coalition norms.

Even when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was completed in Bihar, amid opposition protestations that died down soon enough, Maharashtra has held off its own electoral roll revision. Officialdom confirming this said, “We have informed the Election Commission of India (ECI) that we are unable to carry out the SIR in the state being seized of imminent polls to be held for 28 plus municipal corporations, councils and other local self-bodies in Maharashtra. We have already drawn requisite government personnel (mostly teachers drawn from educational institutions run by the state government) who cannot be redeployed for the purpose of conducting the SIR.” While Opposition political formations led by the Congress chief Rahul Gandhi launched protests over alleged impropriety in the electoral revision process, the large number of ineligible voters and subsequent expose over illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingyas being identified in Bihar saw the Opposition protests being muted soon enough. Maharashtra, for its part, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told newspersons over a Diwali lunch that the state electoral rolls did in fact exhibit individual voters being registered at multiple locations, the incidence of the same voter exercising her/his franchise more than once was not evident. “Address changes and the proliferating migrant populations often caused the changed residential addresses, resultantly in multiple entries in electoral rolls and yet, no double voting incidence has been found to exist…Our priority is to hold the local self-bodies’ elections on pain of inviting public ire over the inordinately delayed civic elections across the state for over three years now.”

The ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra is facing some tough moments at present. Those at the receiving end are alleged to be related with certain questionable matters. The latest ‘expose’ in this series, by state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, has created a sensation. Sapkal has alleged that 21 MLAs have received a Diwali gift of a Defender SUV each from the same contractor. The price of a Defender SUV is said to be around Rs 2 crore. The genesis of the charge is the Defender in which Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLA Sanjay Gaikwad was found moving around. When the MLA’s pictures in the SUV became viral, he explained that the vehicle belonged to one of his relatives, who is a contractor. “He is first my kin and then a businessman,” Gaikwad defended his position. It later transpired that Gaikwad was exposed by certain Mahayuti leaders. However, even before the dust over the matter had settled, Sapkal had burst a political bomb. He has raised many questions. For instance, he has demanded that the identity of the contractor and the beneficiary MLAs should be revealed by the authorities. Similarly, he has asked if the Defender SUV used by Gaikwad belongs to the fleet of the 21 vehicles or is it the 22nd. That SUV had become a centre of attraction in Buldana town which is Gaikwad’s constituency since it was flaunting MLA stickers. A response from the Mahayuti is eagerly awaited by its supporters and detractors.

With less than a year to go for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the anticipated alliance between the CPM and Congress remains in limbo. Despite the recent Kaliganj by-election, where Congress contested with CPM support and improved its performance, the absence of a structured coordination mechanism has left both parties drifting. Party insiders suggest that CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was the key in maintaining crucial communication with Congress’ national leadership. But after his sudden demise in 2024 not much progress has been made. CPM sources indicate initial movement to create space for Congress, which has now stalled, with no confirmed timeline or structured plan for resuming discussions. Earlier this year, tensions between the CPM and ally RSP over seat allocation led to Congress being handed the Kaliganj seat. At the national level, AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir had urged the Bengal unit to prepare for at least 90 assembly seats, signalling both independent strength and the option of alliance-building. This is in respect to the outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha election where CPM led in just one assembly segment, while Congress held leads in 11, mostly in North Dinajpur, Malda, and Murshidabad. On several occasions symbolic unity has been absent between Pradesh Congress and CPM where state president Subhankar Sarkar and CPM leader Mohammad Salim separately organise protest programmes against the ruling Trinamool Congress. Further, internal frictions persist, including discomfort between CPM leaders and former Congress state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, while AICC organisational chief KC Venugopal’s focus on Kerala is seen as affecting Bengal alliance efforts. With no talks between the two parties, the 2026 Assembly elections could once again see a direct fight between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.  

Nothing has hurt DMK ego or the Dravidian model more than the announcement of the Google’s decision to create the AI hub in Andhra .AIADMK leader and former minister Thangamani criticised the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government for failing to attract Google’s investment to the state, “Despite Google CEO Sundar Pichai being a Tamil, Google has gone to Andhra Pradesh and not Tamil Nadu,” he said on the floor of the Tamil Nadu assembly. Responding to the jibe, Tamil Nadu Minister TRB Raaja said the state was set to receive Foxconn’s investment worth Rs 15,000 crore which will create several jobs. He also highlighted that 14,000 engineering jobs were generated under the DMK government and urged parties to stop ridiculing ongoing efforts. Most people however feel foreign investments are moving away from TN as the DMK first family – particularly – chief minister MK Stalin’s son-in law’s is known to seek a partnership with firms wanting to invest in the state. This has hindered investment from coming into the state. Sources point to impediments faced even by committed entrepreneurs like Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu. It is in this light PM Modi during his visit to Andhra this week congratulated the people of the state for Google’s massive AI Hub investment, hailing CM Chandrababu Naidu’s visionary leadership. Modi noted the hub will position Visakhapatnam as a global AI and connectivity centre, serving not just India but the world. Google is set to invest $15 billion to build a massive data centre cluster in Visakhapatnam—a project that could mark its largest direct investment in India’s digital economy, according to a ET report. The 1 GW-capacity data centre hub will comprise three campuses and the facilities are expected to become operational by July 2028.

The Odisha government has finally enforced a “no gift” policy this Diwali festival in state undertakings and government offices. This includes purchase of gift items, their distribution among officials, and the acceptance of presents. Call it an austerity drive… curbing non-essential spending. Simply put, the Central government wants to ensure prudent use of public money. It has given stern warning to the states not to give Diwali gifts with public money henceforth. It seems the Odisha government is complying to the finance ministry’s directive which had issued an office memorandum to all central ministries, state governments, departments including PSU enterprises banning the use of public funds for festive gifts. In doing this the government intends to bring in fiscal discipline and curbing non-essential spending. The respective departments have now been asked to monitor adherence to the policy and ensure that no violations occur. Odisha’s deputy chief minister Pravati Parida has already communicated the government policy on social media and has requested citizens and visitors not to bring gifts to her office. The Odisha government has declared a two-day holiday on October 20-21 for Diwali across the state for Diwali festival except those who are engaged by the poll bound Nuapada district. However, the government officers will have to work on October 25 which is a fourth Saturday.  Many feel this gifting culture should stop as costly Diwali gifts are given by people to decision makers to gain favours. According to a report by EY, a reputed global consultancy firm, there is a need for serious action as the increasing value of Diwali gifts, day by day, can turn out to be a tool of favouritism; please the person in the decision-makers seat.

Maharashtra intends to transfer about 50 leopards to private wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre Vantara, established by Ambani’s Reliance Foundation. Most of these leopards are from the Manikdoh Leopard rescue centre, where leopards involved in human-animal conflicts from around the sugar belt of Junnar region near Pune are rescued and kept. Forest department officials view the emergence of the private forest like Vantara as a huge relief and see this transfer as a win-win solution for its rising cases of man-animal conflicts. “We have more than 100 leopards and about 40 tigers in our various rescue centres across the state. Currently our rescue facilities are already saturated and we are finding it difficult to handle more animals that need to be necessarily rescued from conflict situations including injured animals that need to be treated, says Jitendra Ramgaokar, chief conservator of forests (wildlife). Shifting some leopards over to Vantara, not only frees up space at government facilities but helps them accept animals that are rescued from emergency situations. Also, unlike tigers which are much sought after by various zoos across the country, there are few takers for leopards. Maharashtra’s leopard population has risen from 1690 in 2018 to 1985 in 2022 – – leading to increasing instances of man-animal conflicts. Between Jan 2024-Feb 2025, about 61 persons were killed and 648 injured in wild animal attacks in Maharashtra thus leading to public uproar. The state also intends to increase capacity of its leopard rescue centres and has initiated programs like reproductive control of leopards and even setting up AI-based alert systems, installing solar fencing and taking up awareness campaigns in high-risk villages. A similar strategy is also being considered for tigers, which has increased from 101 in 2020 to 444 in 2022.