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The humiliating defeat of Trinamool Congress in the Assembly polls is seeing the party head for a split. It has also given rise to the role and future position of 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Senior TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar triggered speculations when she wrote on X that “Do you think a four-time MP from a political family, who has stood beside Mamata Banerjee and fought against authoritarian systems for four decades, would think only of personal interests? This is actually a verdict against the failure of policy and governance.” Dastidar did not mention any individual or issue directly but her message was loud and clear. Dastidar, an influential figure within the Trinamool, has been a close associate of Mamata Banerjee. Until recently, she served as the party’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha. However, she was replaced in that role by Kalyan Banerjee, a development that many political analysts believe marked the beginning of growing distance between her and the party leadership. Subsequently, Dastidar publicly criticised political consultancy firm I-PAC, alleging that its activities had harmed the party. She later resigned from various organizational posts within the TMC. Political speculation intensified further when the Union government enhanced her security cover shortly after her resignations. According to sources, around 20 Trinamool MPs may hold a crucial meeting in the coming days. Reports suggest that a letter could subsequently be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking changes in the parliamentary party leadership. Speculation is rife that Dastidar’s name could be proposed as an alternative to current parliamentary leader Abhishek Banerjee.
The election to the Maharashtra Legislative Council is becoming more and more intriguing with one sensational disclosure after another by rival political parties. As expected, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut lobbed the first salvo. He alleged that Rs 150 crore had been spent by the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit). It was his angry reaction to the humiliating show put out by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), of which his leader Uddhav Thackeray is a major policy maker. Raut was immediately ridiculed since Uddhav’s confidant Bal Mane had withdrawn his nomination without giving a faintest hint to his leader. Moreover, Mane has returned to the BJP, which he had left some years ago. In all, the Congress and Sena (UBT) have been finding it most embarrassing as the Mahayuti is set to win almost each of the 17 seats for which election is being held. Developments in some legislative council constituencies have made the opposition leadership speechless since those withdrawing nominations did not even bother to formally convey their decisions. In most cases, the leaders learnt from TV channels of their candidates running away from the contest. Interestingly, Raut has been challenged by the BJP to announce why he failed to field a candidate of his party from Nasik, the district of which the MP is party’s organizational in charge. Has Raut accepted money for not contesting, the BJP has asked. More skeletons are expected to tumble out of the cupboard over the next few days.
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar gave his consent and NCP (Ajit) candidate for the legislative council, Vikram Kakade’s election for the upper house became a mere formality. The reason stated to be instrumental was a telephone call Vikram’s father Sanjay, former BJP MP, had made to Pawar, urging him to clear the path for his son. Although from the rival faction, Pawar graciously gave a nod. Sanjay, it is learnt, had obliged Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party nearly 15 years ago in a local election. As Pawar is blessed with an elephant’s memory, he paid back the obligation by ensuring Vikram’s election unopposed. But there is one more connection with the Pawar family and this election. Vikram had ‘advanced’ Rs.10 crore to Parth Pawar, son of deceased deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Sunetra Pawar, who is occupying the deputy CM’s post now. Vikram has clarified that the payment was against the purchase of a plot of land, which was in the name of Ajit Pawar. In faraway Vidarbha, the BJP’s candidate Arun Lakhani was elected unopposed to the upper house since Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to challenge him. A successful businessman and an ardent RSS worker, Lakhani’s son is slated to marry NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule’s daughter. The would-be couple and their parents recently called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to formally invite him for the wedding, the date for which is yet to be announced. While political party workers keep fighting on roads, no such bitter sentiment is seen in the upper echelons.
So far, Vedanta’s operations in Odisha remain completely unaffected by recent ongoing investigations, scrutiny with regard to FEMA probe, ED raid, search operations on the group’s founder Anil Agarwal after his conflict with Adani over the Jaypee deal. The Odisha state government in dealing with Anil Agarwal has kept its slate clear with regard to Vedanta’s local violations. Vedanta, it may be recalled, was penalized Rs 233.11 crore and Rs 71.16 crore for illegal water extraction and unauthorised hazardous fly ash dumping in Odisha state. Political observers say, “At the moment, Odisha government’s singular focus is ensuring Vedanta’s timely project completion of the project amidst continuous tribal complaints for encroaching on forest reserves. It may be recalled that Vedanta Group did throw a hat in the ring to acquire the debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates. But the lenders ultimately favoured a lower bid from Adani Enterprises. Anil Agarwal tweeted about this development. This is why political analysts interpret the recent FEMA and ED probe as a veiled warning to Anil Agarwal not to cross swords with Adani Group. Vedanta Group is a global natural resources and technology conglomerate. Over the last four decades, founder-chairman Anil Agarwal transformed a small, failing scrap-metal business into one of the world’s leading diversified mining, metals, and hydrocarbons corporations.
Maharashtra’s ongoing scrutiny of beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (CM’s My Favorite Sister Scheme) reportedly identified nearly 80 lakh ineligible women who enjoyed monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 since the scheme’s launch in 2024. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ruled out recovering payouts already made to them. The government’s lenient approach towards women beneficiaries, however, will not extend to the 14,000 men who allegedly secured benefits under the women-centric welfare scheme through fraudulent declarations. Officials involved in the verification exercise indicated that these beneficiaries would face recovery proceedings and could also be exposed to criminal action. At Rs 1,500 per month, the payments made to the male beneficiaries are estimated at Rs 50 crore. Preliminary findings suggest that several applications contained discrepancies in Aadhaar-linked records, while some beneficiaries were identified as ‘male’ during KYC verification despite having submitted details portraying themselves as eligible women. The scrutiny process also reportedly uncovered over five lakh women government employees who availed the benefit despite their annual incomes exceeding the scheme’s eligibility threshold of Rs 2.5 lakh. A senior official associated with the verification drive recalled that in an earlier instance, an individual was jailed for submitting multiple applications and claiming financial assistance under government schemes despite being ineligible. Similar recommendations for recovery and punitive action are expected in cases involving deliberate misrepresentation by men. Political observers believe the decision not to recover funds from the 80 lakh ineligible women reflects both economic and electoral considerations. With rural Maharashtra continuing to experience financial stress, the government appears reluctant to reclaim benefits already disbursed, including non-deserving women, a move that...
The Congress has nominated party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party spokesperson Pawan Khera who was known for taking on Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma from Karnataka. The party opted to give the sole Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh to Meenakshi Natrajan. A committed no-nonsense Congress leader, she had impressed Rahul Gandhi with her simple lifestyle. Party sources said most of the Rajya Sabha picks were personally cleared by Rahul Gandhi. Former CM Digvijay Singh who retired as MP refused to seek another term and made it possible for Meenakshi Natrajan. The Congress has just three sitting MPs who are retiring and if the elections goes as per party strength, the party is likely to get seven lawmakers, provided the JMM offers the second seat which the I.N.D.I.A Bloc can win to Congress in Jharkhand. Besides, Pawan Khera, another person who handles media for the Congress, Pranav Jha is also being nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand. The party also nominated Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Rahman Khan from Karnataka. Meanwhile in the BJP, there was a bloodbath of sorts as incumbent Union ministers George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu did not find their names in the list from Madhya Pradesh. While Bittu may still be contesting the forthcoming Punjab assembly elections, tears are not being shed for Kurian as he had lost in Kerala assembly elections. An old BJP hand, he was apparently seen as not endearing himself or the party to the community. Kurian was not liked very much by the community even though he handled minority affairs.
Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai may have the satisfaction of dominating national media discussions for a day about his possible exit from the BJP. However, after camping in Delhi for three days and even spending his birthday (June 4) by holding out a resignation threat, one hears he has still not put in his resignation. His media antics were not well-received in the PMO. In fact, as news channels obsessed about his meetings with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief Nitin Nabin, eyebrows were raised at the highest level at the kind of level a malcontent from South was allowed to manage media coverage in Delhi. It is precisely for this reason that the former IPS officer failed to secure even a birthday wish from PM Modi or Shah. When Annamalai explained his need to float new forum to mobilise youth in Tamil Nadu, Shah told him that there was no need for it. He was told that the party would always stand with him. It is being felt Annamalai’s talk of a separate morcha to take on the TVK under Vijay could all be an idea that is being pushed probably by the DMK. The DMK needs a credible, clean face to mobilise youth against CM Vijay. It is here that Annamalai fits the bill. Annamalai had extended his stay hoping to meet with PM Modi who was tied up with the visit of Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. It is learnt the BJP did not bargain with Annamalai. A section of the RSS suggested that talks be held with him which is why Amit Shah and Nitin Nabin met with him. Meanwhile, BJP TN president Nainar Nagendran had fixed up a meeting with Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Nainar’s visit to Delhi was portrayed as if he was being summoned by party bosses at Annamalai’s behest.
Contrary to speculation, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the new political party led by actor Vijay that has just come to power in Tamil Nadu, apparently is not bothered about getting a foothold in Delhi. That is why the party did not hesitate in allotting Rajya Sabha seat from TN to its coalition partner, the Congress party, ahead of the biennial elections scheduled for June 18. In a statement, the TVK announced that the seat – vacated by AIADMK leader C V Shanmugam that is set to be filled through the Rajya Sabha election has been allocated to the Congress as part of the seat-sharing arrangement. AICC Tamil Nadu In-charge Girish Chodankar had met CM Joseph Vijay earlier in the day. “I met the chief minister, and requested him that this seat should be allocated to us by them and then it will also help us in the Rajya Sabha,” he said. Chodankar feels the Congress has every reason to feel thrilled with TVK’s gesture as it will now have three Rajya Sabha MPs from the state. At present the Congress has former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Christopher Tilak (AICC secretary) who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March 2026 with the support of the DMK. Praveen Chakravarty, a close Rahul Gandhi aide, who TN CM Vijay publicly addressed as a friend for batting for TVK-Cong alliance, will be the other PC, who is most likely to get elected from the state. “Apparently, the basis for the Congress joining the TVK Govt was the scope for improving its presence in Parliament,” says a Congress source.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has made the big splash in Twenty20 cricket, but the corridors of power in the BCCI feel that the time has arrived to groom the left hander from Bihar and Rajasthan Royals for the 50-over World Cup and the World Twenty20. The 15-year-old put to sword some of the top notch fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the recent Tata-IPL-19. He is yet to get a call for the national Twenty20 team — it’s an event that will happen imminently. Maybe during India’s white ball series in Ireland and England in June-July. India will play two Twenty20 matches at Belfast and then five Twenty20 and three ODIs in England. He has not been picked in the team that will play the three home ODIs against Afghanistan, but vacancy could arise should Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya do not clear the fitness test. Sooryavanshi has not played in the UK where auditions could happen for the Men in Blue team’s preparation for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027. The ICC would be happy to see Sooryavanshi being promoted as a big brand for the next two events — the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia-New Zealand. With so much uncertainty about Suryakumar Yadav to last till 2028, there is a possibility of Sooryavanshi’s career receiving a big push in both white-ball formats. The rationale for the left-hander’s inclusion is based on the big question of whether such a fantastic talent can be wrapped in a cotton wool for a long time. India’s Twenty20 openers are Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson and it’s Rohit and Shubman Gill in ODI’s …but things could clear up soon for Sooryavanshi in both formats.
Political turbulence within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has intensified in the aftermath of the West Bengal Assembly election results, with the party expelling two legislators amid a controversy over alleged forged signatures and growing speculation of internal dissent. MLAs Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay and Sandipan Saha were expelled after reports emerged that they had lodged a police complaint over an alleged signature forgery incident. Their expulsion has reduced the TMC’s strength in the West Bengal Assembly from 80 to 78 MLAs. Since the election results, several senior leaders have publicly expressed differences. Some of the party leaders including Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee had to face the ire of public anger; they were booed, heckled and names called. Now, speculations are rife about a possible split of the party. It is learnt that a significant number of legislators could leave the party and form a new outfit led by expelled MLAs, including Bandyopadhyay and Saha. Speculation intensified after a meeting convened by Didi reportedly had attendance from only 20 of the party’s 80 MLAs, leading to its cancellation. Observers believe any large-scale defection could alter the balance of power in the Assembly and challenge the TMC’s position as the principal opposition party. Comparisons are being drawn with Maharashtra, where the split in the Nationalist Congress Party saw the founder Sharad Pawar losing control. Likewise, a rebellion within Shiv Sena resulted in Uddhav Thackeray losing control of the party organisation and election symbols. Expelled TMC leader Bandyopadhyay says he is prepared to provide authorities with information regarding alleged corruption within the party and government. Addressing supporters through a Facebook Live session, Mamata accused the BJP of attempting to engineer defections.
PM Modi is apparently very happy that the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendations will put a full stop to Opposition-ruled States attacking him for not giving adequate Central funds. When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026, one sentence tucked in the fine print drew the attention of every CM in the country. It was that the Centre had accepted the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendation to keep states’ share in the divisible tax pool at 41%. At first glance, that looked like continuity. But beneath that headline figure lies a quiet revolution. The commission’s new horizontal formula keeps the overall share fixed but changes how it is sliced. For the first time, a state’s contribution to the national GDP carries formal weight—10% of the total formula. This single tweak tilts the balance towards the country’s south and west, where economic output per capita is high, compared to the populous but poorer Hindi-heartland states that had benefited from the old population-heavy criteria. Preliminary calculations suggest that Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are the top six gainers. Karnataka alone may receive around Rs 7,300 crore more each year. In contrast, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand will see smaller shares; MP could lose nearly Rs 7,600 crore. Most losing states are either BJP or NDA-ruled, while the gainers are largely Opposition-governed. Since the first Finance Commission in 1951, the horizontal formula has revolved around the distances between population, area, and income. The 16th Finance Commission marks a clear break. Echoing Modi’s ideas, Panagariya’s logic: States must show improvement in fiscal discipline, transparency and service delivery to qualify for discretionary grants.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s in-person appearance at the Supreme Court in the SIR matter has put her party Trinamool Congress on a strong footing. Her party leaders and workers see Didi’s Supreme Court intervention as scoring brownie points. It reinforces her as the principal face against the BJP in Bengal while squeezing CPM and Congress, rebuilding minority trust where resentment had emerged over Waqf amendments and new political formations, protecting base amid BJP polarisation. Since the Election Commission’s SIR drive to update West Bengal’s 7.62 crore elector rolls began, 58 lakh entries were removed due to relocation, duplication or death. Also, 1.26 crore individuals received notices for verification hearings over “logical inconsistencies” or missing 2002 SIR linkages, with nearly 60 lakh awaiting proceedings. Initially BJP stayed silent, adopting a wait-and-watch line and avoiding social media sarcasm, but later circulated clips of the court proceedings showing judges suggesting her senior lawyer argue and rejecting her claim. Bengal BJP leaders mocked Mamata’s courtroom conduct as political drama. Political analysts say appearance may hold no legal value but produces two effects. By cultivating a solitary fighter image, Didi strengthens core support. Repeated confrontations with central institutions sharpen her political identity. As a woman leader, she contrasts with the Centre’s pro-Hindutva posture, projecting a less aggressive image than a regional party like the TMC, hence Mamata brand is difficult to counter. By aligning her legal battles with voters dealing with discrepancy notices, Didi positions the 2026 election to focus less on governance outcomes and more on instinctive politics of protection.
Several major cities in Maharashtra have donned the saffron by electing BJP-led Mahayuti candidates as their mayor. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Shiv Sena-led by deputy CM Eknath Shinde have arrived at an understanding to install their candidates as mayor and deputy mayors. On February 6, the prestigious Nagpur municipal corporation came under the BJP rule once again. In Nasik, the pilgrimage town, the BJP had nominated Himgauri Adke after a lot of heat was generated between it and Shinde Sena. Finally, senior minister Girish Mahajan succeeded in forging an alliance, which ensured that the mayoral crown will remain with the Mahayuti. Other major cities where BJP mayors are in place are Jalgaon and Dhule in north Maharashtra and at Sambhaji Nagar, the capital of Marathwada. Till yesterday, fireworks were taking place regularly among the Mahayuti constituents. The most watched election will take in place in Mumbai where the BJP is all set to elect its mayor. In exchange, it has left Thane and Kalyan-Dombivali municipal corporations for Shinde Sena, given the clout of Shinde and his son Shrikant, MP. The proliferation of BJP-ruled civic bodies is described as a triple-engine formula success. Buoyed up by the success, Mahayuti leaders are hopeful that their parties will fare similarly well in the election for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti bodies, to take place after a few days.
Arijit Singh’s sudden decision to step away from playback singing swiftly followed by an even more unexpected development of entering active politics (joining BJP) has shocked his fans and well-wishers. With Assembly elections drawing closer, the induction of celebrities into political parties has become an increasingly common phenomenon in West Bengal. The speculation has not remained confined to social media and public discourse. Political circles, particularly within the BJP such as senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, Murshidabad BJP MLA Gaurishankar Ghosh and actor-politician Rudranil Ghosh acknowledged awareness of the rumours but confirmed that no communication regarding Singh’s possible induction had been received from the party’s central leadership. Observers analyse how Singh’s name was linked with politics. Gaurishankar Ghosh pointed to the singer’s longstanding humanitarian activities in Murshidabad. According to him, Singh has quietly supported several voluntary organisations and maintains a close understanding of his home district’s social and economic challenges. This sustained engagement with grassroots issues, he suggested, may have contributed to the political speculation surrounding the singer. The MLA further noted that Singh’s stature, influence, and compassionate public image could significantly benefit a backward district if he were ever to enter public life. Rudranil Ghosh, meanwhile, highlighted Singh’s past expressions on social media during moments of political and social unrest in Bengal. He referred to the singer’s involvement during the RG Kar movement, including the composition of a song, as well as political views occasionally reflected on his X account. At present there is no confirmation from either side. But as they say there is no smoke without fire.
The battle lines have all but been drawn for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls 2026. It is advantage DMK as the polls head for a 3- or 4-cornered contest with actor Vijay the significant new player in the fray. The DMK-Congress alliance is yet to be formalised after seat-sharing talks hit speed bumps, but given the long-term relationship between chief minister MK Stalin and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress is only likely to keep its ties with the DMK going. Poll arithmetic in a contest in which the opposition to the regime is divided among the AIADMK-led NDA alliance, Vijay’s TVK which will be on a solo run and Seeman’s NTK, a fringe player who can however play spoilsport by taking away a proportion of the votes, will favour the ruling DMK despite the anti-incumbency factor. With a lack of data and history, no one can gauge Vijay’s advent into politics. But the way the BJP has played the cards against him is certain to bring him such sympathy for the treatment meted out to him and his last movie Jana Nayagan. Repeated questioning by the CBI with regard to the Karur stampede is another good reason why more people will gravitate towards the TVK. Also, people are yearning for change from the tired Dravidian politics. Even so, it will be DMK, with its committed cadre vote, that will come away with less of its vote share diminished even as AIADMK, which got a near equal vote share in 2021, suffers from its association with the northern upper class party BJP. Stalin seems set to emulate Jayalalithaa’s 2016 performance when her AIADMK was re-elected. The alliances are all but set now no matter what conspiracy theories may be floated from here and what pulls and pressures may come up in the last mile to the polls.
Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat is likely to serve another term. It is reported that he is looking to take over as governor of Maharashtra, which is his additional charge at present. Devvrat was appointed governor of Gujarat in July 2019 while he took the additional charge of Maharashtra on 15 September 2025. Devvrat’s gubernatorial career began in Himachal Pradesh, where he served from 2015 till 2019. Currently, this is his second term in Gujarat. Thus, Devvrat has already served for over 10 years, making him one of the longest-serving governors under the Modi administration. Although Maharashtra is his additional charge, it is noticed that Devvrat is quite active in the state, generating murmurs that he may be a top contender for a full-time appointment here. The issue assumes significance since previous Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is at the receiving end after the Padma Bhushan honour was bestowed upon him by the Centre. Under Article 156 of the Constitution, a state governor normally enjoys a tenure of five years. However, there is no bar on her or his continuation till the successor is named. Due to certain actions and statements of Koshyari, a lot of bad blood was created between him and then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Given the prime position of Maharashtra in the country, the Centre will choose its next governor by taking all precautions to ensure that no friction occurs, it is certain.
The general impression is that Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is skating on thin ice these days. This impression is gaining currency because Majhi’s overall performance has not been stellar. Failing law and order situation, atrocities on women, rampant corruption and flight of industries to other states continues to grab headlines. Critics say Majhi’s leadership has been lacklustre with slow implementation of election promises and major reforms not taking shape, causing his popularity to drop. Political analysts say Majhi’s style of working as figurehead has to change giving way to being a decisive leader focussing on performance. This explains why political leaders and analysts are now urging the Odisha CM to assert his authority and provide results on the ground, so that his leadership remains intact. Otherwise, he could be overshadowed by competitors like the Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who has never hidden his ambition to rule Odisha one day. In fact political analysts say Pradhan is the de-facto master strategist holding the sceptre, while CM Majhi holds the temporary crown.
Two days ahead of PM Modi’s public meeting at Madurantakam, Chengalpattu district on January 23, the BJP stepped up its campaign to expand the NDA ahead of the assembly elections. On January 21, AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran, rejoined the NDA alliance in the presence of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Chennai. He had moved out of the NDA in September 2025. This was six months after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that AIADMK chief Eddapadi K Palaniswami would be the CM face and lead the AIADMK- BJP alliance in Tamil Nadu in April 2025. In a reversal of events early this year, Dhinakaran flew into Delhi, met Amit Shah to pave the way for his return into the NDA fold. It is being said the AMMK commands considerable influence among the Mukkulathor community or Thevars in southern TN. Dhinakaran rejoining the NDA could spell trouble for the ruling DMK. So too the joining of Anbumani Ramadoss-led PMK. It is being said Amit Shah was very keen that all anti-DMK votes in the South, particularly the Thevar community votes should not be fragmented. Dhinakaran described the past differences as merely a “family feud”. On his part, AIADMK chief Palaniswami also welcomed Dhinakaran. The only person acting pricey is DMDK leader Premalatha, widow of late actor Vijayakanth. She is bargaining for two Rajya Sabha seats, a ministerial berth for her son in Modi Govt and some 20 assembly seats. It is her demand to accommodate her son in the Central Govt that has spooked Delhi. Meanwhile, it is learnt that DMK has asked Congress to scale down its demand for seats to 28 and has offered instead to bankroll poll expenses of Assam assembly elections. This simply shows how desperately DMK needs Congress — that is why it is trying to keep it away from actor Vijay’s TVK.
Nitin Nabin was formally declared as the BJP national president, succeeding JP Nadda, in a brief ceremony at party headquarters in Delhi on January 20. All party stalwarts including PM Modi were present. Even as he received a certificate of election from K Laxman, returning officer for BJP organisational polls, Nabin at 45, became the youngest ever to occupy the top party post. The BJP was founded in Mumbai — then Bombay — in 1980 — the year Nabin was born. Emphasising his youthful background, PM Modi went all out emphasising his “millennial background” and “Gen Z connect”. “Nitin Nabin is a millennial. He is from a generation who has witnessed the country’s economic transformation”, the PM said introducing the new party chief. Outlining Nabin’s task, Modi felt his “youthful energy and long experience of working in organisation,” would help in expanding the party’s footprint across the country. Emphasising that he would always be a worker of the BJP, Modi said “And when it comes to party matters, I am a worker, and Nitin Nabin ji is my boss.” He also added that Nabin would have responsibility to coordinate with NDA allies. Meanwhile, Nabin’s sensitive millennial side was revealed in a video that was shared of Modi’s meeting with Nabin’s family at party headquarters…it showed Nabin as a caring father even as he was with PM Modi. Interestingly, PM Modi also shared why BJP is not into celebrating its wins whether in Mumbai’s BMC or even in Gujarat 2022 assembly polls when everyone had expected him to lose. “We are always into analysing our results/ mistakes. Or preparing for the next polls.”
Nearly two decades after the Singur agitation reshaped West Bengal politics, the fertile stretch in Hooghly district has re-emerged as a key electoral flashpoint. With the 2026 Assembly elections nearing, the BJP has revived the Singur narrative, promising the return of Tata Motors and large-scale industrialisation if voted to power. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, continues to project Singur as a landmark victory for farmers against forcible land acquisition. BJP leaders argue that Tata Motors’ exit in 2008 marked the onset of de-industrialisation and that only a change in government can restore investor confidence. The BJP has also contrasted West Bengal’s industrial trajectory with Gujarat’s rapid expansion, presenting the latter as a development model. The party sees Singur as a way to reach Left-leaning voters by emphasising employment and economic growth rather than identity politics alone. The TMC has countered by reiterating that the Singur movement centred on protecting cultivable land and farmers’ rights. It cites the Supreme Court verdict declaring the 2006 land acquisition illegal and ordering land to be returned to unwilling farmers, calling it both legal and moral vindication. The conflict began in 2006 when the Left Front government acquired nearly 1,000 acres for Tata’s Nano project. The decision sparked sustained protests led by Mamata Banerjee, including police action and a 21-day hunger strike. Amid escalating unrest, Tata Motors withdrew in 2008 and shifted the project to Sanand, Gujarat. The Singur and Nandigram agitations later became central to the TMC’s rise, ending 34 years of Left rule in 2011. At present, about 300 acres have been restored to cultivation. Farmers’ groups have demanded that another 300 acres be made arable, suggesting the rest could be considered for industry. As elections approach, Singur’s abandoned fields have again become a battleground of competing visions of development and memory.
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena boss Uddhav Thackeray have been totally decimated in the election to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, raising a question mark about the next turn in their political journey. Just half a dozen of the civic bodies marked any presence of the parties led by the two prominent leaders, leaving the field open to the saffron outfit, led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The other casualty is Pawar’s nephew Ajit, who took on the BJP for no obvious reason and has been mauled badly in his own stronghold, Pune city and district. A few select bodies like Kolhapur, Vasai-Virar, Malegaon, Chandrapur, Parbhani and Amaravati have shown electoral wins of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates, though most have been elected on their own steam. The MVA is now rudderless in the state and the voters, too, have expressed their displeasure on its negative campaigning, which was replete with abuse and curses. On the other hand, Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde continuously harped on the theme of development. The results have conclusively shown that Uddhav’s clout is now confined only to Mumbai, of course lesser than earlier. As far as Sharad Pawar is concerned, he neither campaigned nor addressed any rally. His inaction is blamed for the pitiable condition of his party. Thus, both leaders will have to explain to their cadres what plan of action is in their mind.
Ill-famed Shrikant Pangarkar will henceforth be seen in the civic hall of Jalna Municipal Corporation despite being named as an accused in the 2017 killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh. The Jalna results were declared on Friday and Pangarkar emerged as the winner in Ward 13. He defeated his opponents of the BJP and other parties in a multi-corner contest. The Shiv Sena led by deputy CM Eknath Shinde had chosen not to field any candidate in the ward, a decision that foretold the electoral outcome. Soon after the results, he began celebrating with his supporters. The images went viral, causing an outrage. The criminal case related to Lankesh’s murder is sub-judice, thus enabling Pangarkar to contest. Facing the media after this, Pangarkar asserted that he had not been convicted; hence, the legal process was still underway.” His defence nonplussed the reporters. The assassination of Gauri Lankesh took place in Bengaluru on 5 September 2017. The killing triggered a widespread debate across the country. In August 2018, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Pangarkar as an accused though was granted bail by the Karnataka high court on 4 September 2024. Earlier, Pangarkar had served as a corporator in Jalna between 2001 and 2006 as a member of the undivided Shiv Sena. However, as he was not given a ticket in 2011, he moved to the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, a right-wing organisation. Only a year before, while the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections were to happen, Pangarkar joined the Shinde Sena. The move backfired and Shinde had to keep in abeyance Pangarkar’s entry. Despite that interlude, Pangarkar is back in the news.
A section of the Tamil Nadu BJP leadership is completely disappointed with the line-up of people arranged by Union Minister L Murugan for Pongal festivities organised at his residence and presided over by PM Modi. While it might all be very well for Murugan, who is Minister of State for I&B, to flaunt the presence of makers and cast and crew of the DMK-backed film Parasakthi, some BJP leaders were not comfortable with the presence of producer Akash Baskaran. He is related to late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and his late first son MK Muthu. His wife Dharini is MK Muthu’s granddaughter. Her dad is CK Ranganthan who owns Cavinkare. Her mother is Thenmozhi, Kalignar Karunanidhi’s granddaughter. The issue with Akash Bhaskaran’s presence at PM Modi’s event was that he had briefly figured in the TASMAC scam probe. Of course, the ED had to apologise to Bhaskaran as directed by the Madras High Court. Some TN BJP leaders feel a section of party leaders are always hell bent on bringing “not very desirable characters” into the party and thereby putting off genuine voters. Incidentally, neither PM Modi nor Murugan shared any pics of their interaction with Parasakthi actors on their timeline. It was done by the National Award-winning composer GV Prakash to share a photograph of his interaction with PM Modi as well as reveal the presence of Sivakarthikeyan and Ravi Mohan. Prakash also performed a track from his Tamil pride album Thiruvasagam for the first time at the event. Meanwhile, it is being said the real problem with TVK leader Vijay’s film Jana Nayagan, one hears, is that the protagonist is seen making a direct pitch against “political leadership” that it is communalising politics. Two, he is also seen speaking against “atma nirbhar bharat”. If the Congress has issues with Parasakthi because it is critical of Indira Gandhi, Jana Nayagan has clearly irked powers that be in Delhi.
Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai may be bristling at MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s “rasmalai” jibe at him and may have even dared the MNS leader to break his legs when he visits Mumbai next. While it may be all very well for the cop-turned-politician not to be afraid of Thackeray’s empty boasts, not many in Maharashtra BJP leadership are happy with Annamalai’s foot-in-the-mouth utterances. In fact questions are being asked about the need to even call Annamalai for canvassing for BMC polls. That too at a time when the civic polls seemed nicely tied in ruling Mahayuti’s favour. “What was the need to ask Annamalai to campaign? This is a needless controversy. Annamalai has turned the media attention on himself. In any case we have very small pockets of influence of Tamil voters, whom we have been regularly reaching out to. Annamalai’s utterances on Mumbai have only been twisted to give an issue to the Opposition,” says a senior BJP leader. The only saving grace is that ahead of the civic polls the local media did not play up Annamalai’s comment. Mumbai as Maharashtra’s capital is an emotive issue and anyone familiar with its socio-politics will not even not go anywhere near this topic. He had said Mumbai, apart from being Maharashtra capital, is also an international city. In an interview to a Marathi TV channel, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that there was no need to take the Tamil leader seriously. He suggested that Annamalai was making an effort to communicate in his limited knowledge of Hindi. “It wasn’t as if the PM had spoken. Mumbai is an international city.” As for Raj Thackeray calling Annamalai a “rasmalai”, Fadnavis was dismissive of the MNS leader and felt he couldn’t be taken seriously.
Is the Censor delay for Vijay’s film all aimed to strengthen the TVK chief’s support base and ensure its a superhit? Is the BJP-led Centre actually helping the superstar? As Vijay is facing an uphill task to get his last film Jana Nayagan released on Jan 9 and the Tamil Nadu Congress leaders are already blaming the Home Minister Amit Shah for it. A perception is growing in TN that the BJP is not obstructing the screening of the film but perhaps doing it all to increase his popularity among youth and women. It is being said the whole idea is to ensure that sizable votes of youth and women could now consolidate behind Vijay — that is to move away from the DMK. A strong TVK is bound to weaken the DMK. It is believed a three-way fight in TN will benefit the challenger AIADMK-BJP. Jana Nayagan was postponed two days before release due to a censor certificate delay. While a Madras HC hearing is expected to pave way for its release next week, there is a growing view that Jana Nayagan’s Censor problems were clearly linked to Vijay’s political dalliances with the Congress — Rahul Gandhi had spoken to him post Karur incident. It is in this backdrop that top Congress leaders from AICC in charge Girish Chodankar to Tamil Nadu MPs — Manickam Tagore and Jothimani attacked the Centre for withholding Censor certificate for Vijay’s film. TN Congress sources however feel Vijay may not eventually take up Congress offer of an alliance. “Vijay may finally end up with the AIADMK-BJP. Everyone in TN is heading that way. The DMK will also not take us on board,” pointed out a TN Congress leader.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s decision to be on the screening committee to pick candidates for Assam assembly elections is being viewed in party circles as a stepping stone to her larger role in Congress affairs eventually. It may seem odd that a Gandhi family member has deemed it fit to chair a state’s candidate screening committee. That too when another family confidante and a close Rahul Gandhi aide Jitendra Singh, is in charge of the state. Well, if Priyanka thinks she has stepped into Assam to pose a challenge to incumbent CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and oust the decade old BJP regime, it is surely not going to be an easy task. Himanta has already declared that the ruling BJP and its allies in the NDA are likely to win 103 of the 126 assembly seats. He attributed the higher winning rate of the NDA to delimitation. In these circumstances, what would be Priyanka’s role? Is she coming to mobilise votes of Muslims in Assam? Last month CM Sarma had flagged the rise of phenomenal growth of Muslim population and had blamed the Congress for it. The Muslims are largely loyal to the All India United Democratic Front led by Badruddin Ajmal. In the last elections, AIUDF won 16 seats. It is possible Priyanka has come to strengthen the hands of youthful Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi who is not a much-liked figure. Maybe Priyanka thinks Assam is a low-hanging fruit since in the last elections the difference in the votes in Assam between the NDA and the Opposition alliance was only 1.6% — though the NDA won 75 seats and the Opposition 50. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi one hears has taken off to Vietnam. Of course, BJP’s Amit Malviya insists Rahul has set up Priyanka for “failure”.
While the Maha Vikas Aghadi which is in shambles is finding it difficult to find sufficient candidates to field for the coming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti has already opened its account in some cities. The most striking score, so far, is in Panvel, a satellite town of Mumbai. At least eight BJP candidates have been considered elected since there are no opposition nominees. Similarly, major corporations like Kalyan-Dombivali, Thane, Bhiwandi, Ahilya Nagar, Jalgaon and Pune are following suit. Incidentally, most victorious candidates are proved lucky since in several places, their opponents were eliminated as their nomination documents were found lacking in scrutiny. While chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has expressed confidence that the Mahayuti will sweep all the 29 municipal corporations on 16 January, deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, too, has half a dozen winners to its credit. Although there was large scale defection and rebellion till the other day, leaders of all major parties have become successful in quelling the revolts. Munira Shaikh Fakir Mohamed of Islam Party has been elected unopposed from a ward in Malegaon, considered a sensitive town communally. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party led by veteran Sharad Pawar appear to be the most vulnerable in the power play. The final picture will be clear by Saturday (Jan3) when the names of those who have withdrawn from the contest will become known. Nonetheless, the saffron outfit is already on cloud nine.
Ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, a sharp political divide is emerging. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is foregrounding Bengali language, asmita, and secularism, projecting her government as pro-people through social welfare schemes and friendly governance. Conversely, the BJP is centring its campaign on illegal infiltration, corruption, misgovernance and a “climate of fear,” as outlined by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. During a three-day Kolkata tour, Shah intensified attacks on the Trinamool Congress, alleging that 15 years of rule have been paralysed by “syndicate-driven practices” and corruption, hindering development and central scheme implementation. Shah accused Mamata of nepotism, claiming power concentrated around her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. He further criticised the appointment of senior police officials, alleging deviations from norms via the use of retired officers as proxy heads. On national security, Shah labelled illegal immigration a critical concern. He alleged the state failed to provide land for border fencing, claiming while infiltration dropped in Assam and Tripura, it persists in Bengal due to “vote-bank considerations.” He cited the BJP’s growth from 17 % vote share and two Lok Sabha seats in 2014 to 39 % vote share and 12 seats in 2024 as evidence of momentum. Banerjee launched a counterattack by questioning why the Centre focuses on Bengal while ignoring security issues in regions like Jammu and Kashmir. Finally, she questioned the timing of BJP’s deportation promises, noting that Bengal and Punjab bore the historical brunt of 1947’s Partition displacement.
Apparently, there isn’t the usual rush of visitors at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi these days. No, it has nothing to do with the winter blues. It has got more to do with the appointment of new BJP working president Nitin Nabin. It is being said the usual throng is missing. Perhaps, people are waiting for Nabin to be formally installed as party president which will happen very soon. Along with him, a new set of office-bearers will also take charge. It is being said that only people who are now being spotted at headquarters are people from Nabin’s hometurf — that is Bihar — probably taking a lot of pride in the big office he will soon occupy. Of course, Nabin himself has been busy traveling to Puducherry in the South and Patna. An interesting fallout of Nabin’s elevation is that the other serious BJP president hopeful — Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav — has finally begun attending to his ministerial responsibility. Yadav could be heard speaking about Delhi’s toxic AQI only after Nabin’s elevation. Meanwhile, there are also misgivings about Nabin’s rise within the BJP. It is felt he would always be remote controlled. He would remain the best bet for whoever picked him for the top job. Perhaps that was why he was chosen!
Elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – the most prestigious and cash richest civic body housed within the financial capital of India — will be held on January 15. Seat number 227 (identical to the total tally of seats in BMC) sees the Congress party faced with a Hobson’s choice, where two Christian women are vying for the party candidature. One resourceful hospitality sector entrepreneur – Laura D’Souza and the other – Vaishali Gawde – grass-roots worker of the party who will need the party’s financial investment into her candidature if selected as the party candidate. The seat is housed in the most prestigious Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha parliamentary and assembly constituencies of Mumbai that used to be the HQ of the Jan Sangh now BJP. Back then the undivided Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray had wrested the seat despite protestations from the BJP. After all, former Union Power Minister Jaywantiben Mehta held the seat for over a decade. Shiv Sena candidate Arvind Sawant still won convincingly with 50K votes more than his nearest opponent and has enjoyed voter confidence ever since. BJP’s state assembly winner and Speaker in Maharashtra’s state legislature Rahul Narvekar is credited with being the real political powerhouse in the belt alongside the developmental skill sets of neighboring Malabar Hill MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha. Narvekar’s younger brother has been the corporator elected from the seat and is likely to field his wife this time round. Coming back to the Congress candidate chosen for seat 227 – she will have to be a real giant killer. UBT Sena has tied up with MNS while Congress, Sharad Pawar’s NCP are seeking Prakash Ambedkar’s Dalit vote bank separately.
Congress MLC Pradnya Satav’s decision to resign her post and join the BJP has wider ramifications than was initially understood. It is now clear that the most affected individual by her abrupt change of loyalty is none other than Rahul Gandhi. Although the state Congress failed to persuade her to stay over in the party, Pradnya decided to join the ruling party since she felt that no developmental work will be possible in her Hingoli area unless there is a strong political support. Unfortunately for the Congress party, its last leader from Marathwada, former CM Ashok Chavan, is now a BJP MP while his daughter is elected to the legislative assembly on that party’s ticket. Pradnya’s husband Rajiv Satav was a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi, who had entrusted him to handle the last assembly election in Gujarat. In that election, the Congress had won 77 seats, a record in recent times, against the BJP’s 99. After Rajiv’s untimely demise in 2021 in the Covid pandemic, the Congress party sent Pradnya to the state legislative council, a gesture to pay homage to her husband. However, over the past three years, Pradnya realised the importance of political backing and has decided to join the saffron outfit. With her decision, Rahul Gandhi’s leadership limitations have once again been exposed. Nonetheless, on her part, Pradnya has praised Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. But that will be her swan song for the Congress, it is now clear.
The BJP leadership had to recently redeploy Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal once again for handling Tamil Nadu assembly polls. This was apparently being done on request from the Tamil Nadu BJP unit. Even NDA ally — AIADMK chief Edappadi Palaniswami – had conveyed to top BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah that Goyal should be in charge of the state. Initially, the party had assigned senior leader Baijayant Panda and Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol to handle the southern state. Party sources felt Goyal had been a good election manager during the Lok Sabha polls and was quite hands on. TN BJP leaders also found MoS Mohol was too distracted and not taking interest in Chennai affairs. So TN BJP chief Nainar Nagendran rushed to Delhi and lobbied with central leadership to deploy Goyal once again so that BJP can give good results in the state. Nainar had cited the experience of state BJP during Lok Sabha polls. Yielding to local demand, the central BJP leadership tweaked its assignments for the poll-bound states. Goyal was given Tamil Nadu charge and Panda was given Assam. The responsibility of winning back Assam assembly elections will anyway largely lie with incumbent CM Himanta Biswas Sarma.
With the Election Commission releasing West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, which saw over 58 lakh voters removed across the state on grounds including death and migration, and voter profiles redrawn across districts and border belts ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, there is a disquiet in the ruling Trinamool Congress. What has particularly upset West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is voter deletion in her Bhabanipur constituency – nearly 44,787 voters have been deleted. The CM is also surprised that no complaints are forthcoming since the draft rolls were published. That is why the TMC leadership decided to deploy its booth-level agents for a fresh, door-to-door verification of deleted voters’ names in her constituency. Bhabanipur had 206,295 voters as of January 2025. The newly published draft rolls list has 161,509 names. TMC leaders are particularly upset over a large number of voters being marked “dead”, “shifted” or “absent”. “The party leadership made it clear that no valid voter’s name should be deleted under any circumstances. Every deleted name must be physically verified,” a TMC source said. Bhabanipur is a dense urban seat with many residents originally from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. Mamata is also surprised that maximum deletion of voters, 74,533 has happened in Chowringhee constituency of her close friend Naina Bandhopadhya. In contrast, voter deletion from Nandigram — from where she lost – is just 10,550. The seat is now represented by her BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari. Reacting to names deleted in the SIR exercise, BJP leader Amit Malviya says the process has revealed that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has stayed in power due to votes cast in the names of illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.
Has sibling rivalry caught up with the Gandhis? According to Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, a former Congress leader now in the BJP, insists that the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi set off for a visit to Germany in midst of Parliament’s Winter Session only after his Parliament speech on electoral reforms went bust and was compared with his sister Priyanka’s speech on Vande Mataram. Sources say the minister spoke about the sibling rift to give context to negative statements being made by the LoP about India — such as “Manufacturing is declining in India” in Germany. It is being said Rahul is apparently upset that his speech made no impact while Priyanaka’s created a buzz. Yet, there are few takers for stories of rifts between the Gandhi siblings. Younger sibling Priyanka regularly defends Rahul against the BJP’s political attacks. She had also fiercely defended Rahul’s trip to Germany. While it is true that both Rahul and mother Sonia have ensured that Priyanka does not have any role in the Congress, party sources say Priyanka has been micromanaging floor protests in her brother’s absence in the last few days. On the penultimate day of the Session, Priyanka used Question Hour to meet Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to sort out issues about her Wayanad constituency. However, too many disruptions cost Priyanka an opportunity to speak about air pollution in Delhi/NCR. The Lok Sabha was adjourned as soon as the house passed modified MNREGA or the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025. The House had sat till wee hours — till about 1.30 am — discussing the bill. Speaker Om Birla rejected Opposition pleas to send the Bill to a Standing Committee; After all, 99 speakers participated in the discussion.
The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation victory seems to have infused some life into BJP’s mission to break the last frontiers that are Kerala and Tamil Nadu. With the win under their belt, they have now named three Union ministers for talks with the AIADMK regarding seat sharing among the alliance with Piyush Goyal to lead the panel. The AIADMK, under Edappadi K Palaniswami has hit upon a formula to please the BJP by which it will take 160 seats and leave the other 74 for the allies to decide. The BJP will have to juggle with seat demands rising from the likes of Anbumani Ramadoss who brings his branch of the caste party PMK and the rump elements of the old undivided AIADMK like Sasikala, her confidant O Panneerselvam and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran and even the late actor Vijayakanth’s DMDK. But 74 is a good number with the BJP likely to keep at least half that give the rest to try and bring about a coalition of parties to boost the alliance’s vote share. Even so, Tamil Nadu may prove a tougher nut to crack than Kerala when it comes to letting in the BJP, which is considered a north Indian party trying to break its way into the south. The election scene has already got busier this season with Vijay’s TVK entering the fray to make it a genuine three-way contest.
In a surprise move, the BJP’s Parliamentary board on December 14 appointed Nitin Nabin, as the party’s new working president. Party sources said Nabin would be reaching BJP headquarters in Delhi on December 15 to take charge of his new assignment. It is most likely that he will continue as a minister in the Nitish Kumar government. His elevation is being compared to the appointment of another of PM Modi’s picks as BJP state president for Uttar Pradesh — Union Minister of State — Pankaj Chaudhary — an effective Kurmi leader. Sources said despatch of Chaudhary, widely acceptable OBC face to UP, was to send a message to supporters of state CM Yogi who were having a free-run of the state. As for zeroing in on Nabin — an upper caste pick, a Kayastha and high energy performer — to replace Nadda was PM Modi’s idea entirely going by organisational skills. Apparently both Chaudhary and Nabin will discharge their ministerial responsibilities for the time being. Does Nabin immediately replace Jagat Prasad Nadda? Unlikely. The term of the current president Nadda had ended way back in January 2024 but was extended in view of the 2024 general election. Though Nabin’s appointment as working president came into effect immediately, he will take charge only after he is formally elected as party president. Sources recall Nabin is following Nadda’s trajectory – Nadda was also appointed as working president in June 2019 when Amit Shah, the then president, took over as the Union home minister. Nabin’s elevation marks a generational change in the party. Lot of seniors may not be comfortable working with a youthful party chief. It is likely that Nabin’s elevation as party president could eventually be worked out via election for the top post only after the assembly elections.
In a major boost for the BJP in Kerala, the BJP-led NDA scored a historic win in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation marking the end of 45 uninterrupted years of Left (LDF) control, making it one of the most significant political upsets in Kerala electoral history. It retained power in Palakkad municipality, while the LDF lost control of its long-held stronghold in Kollam after 25 years. The Congress-led UDF emerged as the dominant force across the state, consolidating its hold over a majority of panchayats and municipalities. In corporation-wise trends, the UDF is currently leading in Kochi, Thrissur, Kannur and Kollam, marking a significant improvement from the last local body polls when it won only Kannur. The LDF and NDA are leading in one corporation each. The rise of BJP in the capital Thiruvananthapuram Corporation as the single largest party is a big boost for the national party. Party sources acknowledge that a strong RSS-network and popularity of PM Modi delivered the results.” We have never won more than 34 seats in the Kerala capital. But the fact that we have gone up to 50 seats and that we have got our own mayor elected shows that we have grown in strength.” Besides Modi’s widening acceptability, full credit goes to state BJP chief Rajeev Chandrashekhar. Bringing him to helm the state unit was the best decision that the leadership took; it has given us the results according to RSS ideologue R Balashankar. At the same time, he felt the party had put up a below par performance in Thrissur. This in spite of the fact that the local MP, Suresh Gopi is a Union Minister. Inconsistencies of the minister may have upset the voters, it was felt. Rahul Gandhi took to X “salute to people for ‘placing trust’ in UDF.”
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s 85th birthday celebrations have refreshed speculation about his future moves. Showing clear signs of ageing, Pawar will retire from the Rajya Sabha in 2026. His parliamentary career began in 1967 when he won the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district. And for the last 58 years, he has been a member of either the state legislature or parliament. However, the assembly election last year has decimated his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party to such an extent that he will have to secure support from some other party to be re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament. While the BJP is unlikely to help him, Pawar will have to depend upon either his nephew Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction or the Shiv Sena splinter led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. As both are with the BJP through the thick and thin so far, Pawar will have to weave his strategy. But he is a master in such political manipulations and can re-enter Parliament, if he wishes, his supporters are confident. However, there is a third possibility. The President of India can nominate Pawar to the Rajya Sabha, in view of his long career in public life. And none will object since Pawar is on friendly terms with all political parties and prominent industrial magnates. The presence of Gautam Adani at Pawar’s Delhi residence to join the celebratory dinner is quite eloquent, it is felt. All said and done, Pawar has once again shown that he is still active.
The Bengal BJP is recalibrating from its earlier hardline Hindutva stance to adopt a more measured political tone, even as chief minister Mamata Banerjee intensifies her charge that the party is anti-Bengali, communal, and attempting to bring the NRC into the state through indirect means. The shift became most evident when Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari softened his long-held claim that the BJP neither expects nor needs minority votes. After months of asserting that minorities never support the BJP and that a 5-6% rise in Hindu votes would be enough to form government, he has now reinterpreted his stance, saying the party simply does not receive minority votes rather than rejecting them. There is no indication that the BJP’s central leadership has instructed the state unit to soften its tone, and even central leaders acknowledge that polarisation has helped the party perform better in rural regions. Trinamool Congress leaders argue that Adhikari has realised Hindutva alone will not secure victory for the party. Party insiders see the shift as a strategic effort to weaken the strong perception that a BJP government would threaten minorities and instead minority votes may fragment rather than consolidate behind the Trinamool. Adhikari has recently suggested that AIMIM and ISF could draw minority support and predicted that the Trinamool may not win any seat in Malda, with the BJP securing a significant share. The BJP’s choice of Shamik Bhattacharya, viewed as a moderate, as state president was aimed at appealing to the liberal urban middle-class Bengali electorate that is harder to draw with hardline rhetoric.
The BJP took to social media to corner Shiv Sena (UBT) for signing up the anti-Hindu move launched by the DMK to corner a sitting judge of Madras High Court Justice GR Swaminathan who had restored an age-old religious practice of the Hindus. That is of lighting lamps to mark Karthigai Deepam at a spot sacred to the Hindus. Senior BJP functionary BL Santosh in a post on X “SS (UBT) members sign impeachment motion against Madras HC Judge for giving a judgement in favour of lighting Karthigai Deepam. Shame on them who chose vote bank politics & political expediency over their Balasaheb’s legacy”. Among the signatories shared in his post was SS (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant. On December 9, the DMK submitted a notice with 120 signatures to the Speaker seeking impeachment proceedings against Justice GR Swaminathan. DMK parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi, the party’s Lok Sabha leader TR Baalu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra handed the impeachment notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The DMK was keen to appease their Muslim vote bank. In fact, the DMK even dared to mention the judge’s Brahmin caste as a factor in the impeachment motion and forced many north Indian MPs to sign it without explicitly knowing it. The notice alleged that Justice Swaminathan’s conduct raised questions on judicial impartiality and transparency, accused him of showing undue favour to a senior advocate and lawyers from a particular community–Brahmin — and claimed that verdicts were influenced by political ideology, going against “secular constitutional principles”. The opposition move against Justice Swamination shocked many BJP leaders. BJP leader K Annamalai was heard saying how the judge had passed many adverse orders against him. Tamil Nadu Congress sources are only hoping that Justice Swaminathan is quietly elevated to Supreme Court soon.
It seems the Congress leadership is once again very serious about maintaining its alliance with the DMK as its traditional allies in the North are rethinking its ties with the Congress post Bihar results. With the Samajwadi Party planning to go alone in local body elections in Uttar Pradesh and the ruling JMM in Jharkhand is exploring option of joining the BJP-led NDA, the Congress is now determined not to lose its traditional INDIA bloc partner in the South such as the DMK. With this view, the AICC leadership has completely distanced itself from its functionary Praveen Chakravarty’s meeting with TVK president actor Vijay on December 6. When asked how could Praveen meet the TVK chief for a personal reason, a top AICC functionary dealing with Tamil Nadu said, “It is possible Praveen ji may have dropped in on actor Vijay for a cup of coffee or just have idlis or some other personal work. We are not aware. He was not assigned or authorised by anyone in Delhi.” Praveen, who heads All India Professional Congress, called on the TVK chief three days after the Congress set up a panel to engage with the DMK on seat-sharing talks for 2026 assembly elections. Vijay-Praveen meeting completely unsettled the traditional DMK-Congress equation. Of course, it is quite likely Praveen, a close Rahul Gandhi aide, may not have got an audition with Vijay for a private reason. It may be recalled post Karur stampede Rahul Gandhi had also spoken to Vijay. However, now there is an intense speculation that the Congress party may have to take some punitive step against Praveen to win confidence of the DMK. Yet at the same time Congress leaders dealing with DMK conceded that Arivalayam has been playing tough, factoring in Bihar drubbing. “We wanted to finalise the seat-sharing agreement with the DMK by December 15,” says a top Congress leader.
The lines of communication between Rahul Gandhi and actor Vijay who leads the TVK in Tamil Nadu are open. The Congress leader sent an emissary to meet Vijay and the meeting lasted a good hour even as the talks between Congress and DMK began on a negative note with the Dravidian party saying it was not willing to part with 40 seats like in 2021 because it had so many allies to accommodate. The Congress’ overture to Vijay is, however, not about Tamil Nadu whose politics is too complex now with the arrival of Vijay into full time politics. The party would like to take a dash at gaining power in the Union Territory of Puducherry by joining hands with Vijay and standing together as one front against reigning chief minister N Rangasamy and his alliance with the BJP. The party is confident that it can gain power in the UT with the actor’s popularity and if that materialises it could take a different view of TN politics in the future. Vijay was inclined to talk to Rahul on a political alignment since the leader had called him and spoken at length to him after the terrible stampede took place to disrupt his fledgling political campaign. While TN might not see a big rupture in alliance coming about before 2026, the Congress is not averse to testing the waters in Puducherry and then taking a call in the south.
The BJP’s plans of ruling Maharashtra single-handed at a future date are becoming gradually visible. Various tiny sections of population like Banjara, Laman, Valmiki and other fringe communities will be approached under a systematic strategy by the party’s rank and file. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has organised three mega events through the Medical Assistance Cell he has set up with a view to integrating them into the mainstream. Details in regard to the timing and location of the three gatherings will be announced soon. In the long run, the BJP will have to garner at least 40% of the votes if it wants to go it alone in the state. At present, its vote bank is nearly 27%. Since 2014, the BJP has faced three elections each, for the assembly and the parliament. While some were solo, it had found partners for others. Overall, its own vote tally has remained between 25% and 28%. The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) has secured over 12% of the votes while the NCP (Ajit Pawar) managed to clock 9%. Union home minister Amit Shah’s statement last year that the BJP will not need ‘crutches’ (support of other parties) in 2029 is recalled in this connection. Already, the BJP is in a comfortable position in the state. Hence, the concern felt by its allies about its planning has been on the rise.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain the Bengal BJP’s main campaign face for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, but the party is consciously limiting his appearances to avoid “overuse” of its most popular leader. State unit insiders believe Modi’s speeches and announcements at select rallies will shape the state-wide narrative, with the party machinery ensuring these messages resonate across districts. Modi is expected to begin his Bengal campaign later in December. BJP sources said he may address his first rally on a Saturday or Sunday during Parliament’s winter session. From December until the end of the campaign, he is likely to hold 14–15 rallies across the state, according to a senior party source. With the election announcement still at least three months away and the polling process expected to stretch two to two-and-a-half months, the campaign period could run nearly five months. Sources further informed that under the current plan, Modi will not exceed 15 rallies. This marks a shift from 2021, when the BJP’s campaign was heavily Modi-centric. Despite the high-voltage campaign, the BJP could not breach Mamata Banerjee’s stronghold. Since then the party has adopted a restrained approach in other states. In Maharashtra, Modi addressed only nine rallies during the 2024 polls, compared to far more in 2014 and 2019. In Haryana, he reduced from 10 rallies in 2014 to four in 2024. State BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya said no formal decision had been taken on Modi’s rally count. He maintained that whether Modi holds 21 rallies or 12, the BJP is confident of the Trinamool Congress’s exit in 2026.
With the central BJP leadership ticking off former Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai for running a campaign against incumbent president Nainar Nagendran and AIADMK chief Edappadi Palanisawami (EPS), Annamalai’s options are now running out within the BJP. He has been so severely censured for running a social media campaign against NDA ally — AIADMK chief EPS — using his personal troll army, that he has been advised to disband it forthwith. It is being said Annamalai may have felt a little encouraged after PM Modi patted his back at Coimbatore airport during his mid-November. But that did not help him get an appointment with the PM even after multiple requests. This hugely disappointed him. Party sources feel Annamalai’s lack of access to PM Modi may have a lot to do with declining clout of a key official — Hiren Joshi in the PMO (more about it later) — his pointsman for Delhi operations. So, what triggered the tough talk on Annamalai? It has a lot to do with TN BJP chief Nagendran’s recent visit to Delhi, where he met national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, national secretary Arvind Menon, and election in-charge Baijayant Panda. It was Santhosh who read the riot act to Annamalai that he must stop using his troll army against EPS and Nagendran from BJP-linked handles. It is being said he had already begun to skip key party strategy meetings. With Delhi leaders also being hostile to him, Annamalai is also expected to go out like the way rebel AIADMK leader Sengottaiyan did and join actor Vijay’s TVK. Only it is not clear if Annamalai exits the BJP will he first float his own party or directly land at Vijay’s office. Will he exit from BJP’s Kamalalayam to land in TVK’s Panaiyur office?
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)has perhaps forgotten the adage – once bitten, twice shy. Despite its humiliating defeat in the Maharashtra assembly elections just a year ago, MVA partners have failed to team up to take on the saffron Mahayuti, led by the BJP. While voting for the local body elections is scheduled to take place on December 3, only three days are left for campaigning. However, the Congress has refused to include the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray into the MVA fold. The NCP-SP led by veteran Sharad Pawar is hardly visible except in certain pockets in Pune and Satara districts. Moreover, it has aligned with the NCP faction led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who split the parent party three years ago. Thereby, confusing signals about the Pawar clan in particular and about MVA in general are becoming viral, adding to the vexation of the voting public. Surprisingly, no prominent MVA leader has ventured out for campaigning against the Mahayuti. On the other hand, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and both deputy CMs, Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, are combing the countryside tirelessly. MVA leaders are visible only in front of TV cameras or through press notes, making impossible demands. Perhaps sensing the verdict, they have started shouting in chorus against EVMs and charging that the electoral rolls are suspicious. Re-enactment of Bihar is, thus, feared by the rank and file of MVA.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has consciously made clear distinction (course correction) for BJP’s further growth in the state. With elections for over 29 municipal corporations, a higher number of municipal councils and even more local self-bodies due imminently, Maharashtra’s Chanakya has put his party first, over alliance considerations. During the 2024 Lok Sabha polls political alliance-Dharma exuberance saw BJP suffering sharp losses in Maharashtra, down to a single digit victory figure of nine MPs despite contesting 28 seats as against the tally of 23 enjoyed in 2019 after pitting 25 candidates back then. The Sena similarly won 18 of the 23 seats it contested in alliance with BJP in 2019. The bifurcated Shiv Sena faction under former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray (UBT) contested 21 seats in 2024, sending only nine MPs to parliament. Just before the subsequent state assembly elections Fadnavis was anointed ‘Maharashtra’s Sarvashri’ by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Fadnavis micromanaged the whole process, putting up BJP candidates to include Nilesh Rane, Shaina NC to contest even as alliance partner Shiv Sena candidates (deputy CM Eknath Shinde led party). The result was an overwhelming victory for the Mahayuti alliance, with BJP bagging 132 by itself, the NDA alliance securing 235 out of 288 assembly seats in all. And yet, post facto analysis of the Lok Sabha debacle clearly revealed to Fadnavis that alliance partner NCP’s vote share (led by deputy CM Ajit Pawar) did not transfer to BJP candidates. Now, Fadnavis has made it clear that no micromanagement, political exuberance will be shown in an each-party-for-itself political showdown though alliance understanding will decide seats to be contested in the civic polls. Poaching of Eknath Shinde’s men in Thane by the BJP and Ajit Pawar’s recent political embarrassments only point in this direction.
In a stinging public rebuke that has unsettled the Bengal BJP unit, Tamluk MP and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay has said he is “disillusioned” with the party barely 18 months after joining politics, declaring that the BJP is “nowhere close” to removing chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Gangopadhyay, who quit the judiciary last year to contest the Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket, said his “only purpose” in entering electoral politics was to “remove Didi from power”. Holding the Modi government, central agencies and the Election Commission for their collective to make headway, and questioned the Centre’s intent toward Bengal. The former judge also stated that Mamata Banerjee who leverages the “anti-Bengali sentiment” issue as a poll plank, as the BJP continues to “misread Bengal’s sentiment”. Expressing “discontent” over the dominance of “non-Bengali leadership” in the state unit, he said the “mindset of North India does not match that of West Bengal” and that the party cannot import leaders from the Hindi belt and expect to win. Delhi-based leaders, he added, do not grasp the “mentality, temperament or sentiments” of Bengal’s electorate. Gangopadhyay further criticised central agencies for “failing” on matters such as the teachers’ recruitment scams and the RG Kar Medical College rape case, alleging that sections were influenced by ruling party leaders for the teachers’ recruitment scam. As a judge, he had once handled recruitment scam cases before resigning to join the BJP. He also accused the Election Commission of failing to enforce FIRs it ordered against officials for alleged irregularities, saying the state instead issued suspensions. His remarks have left the Bengal BJP in an awkward position, with state leaders privately expressing discomfort over his public doubts about the party.
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.
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.
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 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.”
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.
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.
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.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Short Post Is Here To Stay…
Time, they say, flies—and how true that is. Here we are celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Five years ago, when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across the globe, I took a leap of faith and launched Short Post, India’s first website for Authentic Gossip. That was on January 31, 2021. I was convinced there was a clear gap in the market for gossip that was credible, sharp, and impactful—especially if told in just 250 words.
In this, I was fortunate. Scores of senior editors across diverse verticals bought into the idea and, in the process, gave wings to my dream. Quite honestly, Short Post could not have crossed these milestones without the unflinching support of its contributing editors. Like all start-ups, we have seen our share of ups and downs, but these editors have stood by us like a rock. I take this opportunity to doff my hat to them.
Thanks to their commitment, we have published close to 5,000 stories spanning politics, business, entertainment, and sports. I say this with pride: we made our mark as people who matter read us. “Small packs, big impact” truly captures the essence of Short Post.
We all know that Covid-19 has reset businesses worldwide, and the media sector is no exception. In the post-Covid era, investors have become more cautious and selective—and advertisers too. To compound matters, the entry of AI has disrupted the media landscape in equal measure. So far, we have managed to hold our ground, hopeful that some angel investors will take a shine to us.
What gives me confidence is this: AI cannot smell news—especially the gossipy kind. In other words, AI cannot churn out Short Post-type stories, no matter the prompt. That puts us in a safe zone. As someone rightly said, “AI is a co-pilot, not a pilot.”