One month after ending Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule, West Bengal’s first BJP government under chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has introduced major administrative, political and social changes since taking office on May 9. Prioritising border security, the state government transferred nearly 32 acres of land to the BSF for Bangladesh border fencing. It also approved handing over seven national highways in the Siliguri Corridor (“Chicken’s Neck”) to central agencies. In healthcare, the TMC’s Swasthya Sathi scheme has been replaced by Ayushman Bharat. The Annapurna Bhandar scheme, launched on June 4, provides Rs 3,000 monthly to 28-lakh plus women beneficiaries. Free travel for women on state-run buses began on June 1. The upper age limit for government jobs has been raised by five years. The government has reopened cases linked to post-poll violence after the 2021 Assembly and 2023 Panchayat elections. Education reforms include making Vande Mataram compulsory in government schools and reviewing all madrasas’ infrastructure, administration and legal status, with district magistrates directed to report by July 5. OBC reservation has been reduced from 17% to 7%, Muslim communities removed from the OBC list, and a new list of 66 OBC categories published following a Calcutta High Court order. Bulldozer drives in Kolkata and other districts, especially near railway stations, have sparked protests with the CPI(M), Congress and labour groups approaching the courts. Under the “Detect, Delete, Deport” policy, the government claims 4,800 people have been sent back to Bangladesh. Restrictions on prayers on public roads, mandatory approval for cow, bull and buffalo slaughter, and the withdrawal of honorariums and welfare grants for imams, muezzins and temple priests have also triggered concerns. A lot has been compressed in 30 days.

In what is being described as the most severe setback of her nearly five-decade-long political career, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is facing an unprecedented rebellion within her party, with a group of 20 MPs reportedly breaking ranks and extending support to the BJP-led NDA. The dramatic event unfolded on Monday (June 8) when a faction led by senior TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing support for the NDA government. The move came at a particularly embarrassing moment for the TMC chief as she was in the Capital attending a meeting of the opposition INDIA Bloc. According to sources, the rebel MPs subsequently attended a meeting at the residence of Union Minister and BJP’s West Bengal observer Bhupendra Yadav, where West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was also present. The meeting has intensified speculation that the dissident lawmakers are preparing to formalise a separate parliamentary formation aligned with the NDA. After facing dissent among MLAs, the party is now confronting the prospect of a major split in its parliamentary ranks, with discussions intensifying around the formation of a “new Trinamool” group in Parliament. The crisis deepened further after Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigned from both Parliament and the party. He personally submitted his resignation to the Vice-President in New Delhi before issuing a strongly worded statement critical of the TMC leadership. Facing her gravest internal challenge in years, Mamata Banerjee has reportedly begun a frantic damage-control exercise. Party sources said she personally contacted several MPs over the past 24 hours in an effort to prevent further defections and reassure wavering leaders. The coming days could determine not only the future of the TMC Parliamentary presence but also the political legacy of Didi.

Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi will be completing two years in the office on June 12, 2026. His tenure so far has evoked mixed reactions. Constantly there were rumours that he may be replaced by a Union minister. He has survived two years. Yes, one cannot take away the fact that Odisha under Majhi’s leadership attracted investment of Rs 16.73 lakh crore during the Utkarsh Odisha Enclave held in January 2025, rolled out welfare schemes like Subhadra Yojana and restarted direct public grievance hearings. Yet, many are not optimistic that he will complete the full terms. There are several vexing issues like the deteriorating law and order, inadequate police force numbers, rising criminal activities and administrative inertia. BJP’s biggest challenge is the grassroot connect. Although it benefited from anti-incumbency against the Biju Janata Dal in 2024 it has yet to build a strong rural organisational structure to challenge BJD-Congress might. In fact, the previous Panchayati Raj elections highlighted this weakness clearly, with BJP winning only 42 Zilla Parishad seats against the BJD’s 766. With Panchayat elections approaching, BJP must expand its cadre-base and convince voters through governance improvement rather than relying solely on anti-BJD-Congress sentiment.

Reams have been written about the Tamil Nadu government selling liquor to its thirsty “Tamizh Kudimagan” (a comic double entendre popular in Tamil films). Equal number of reams have condemned and censured the State peddling liquor. Yet the sale of liquor is high and spirited in TN …in fact it is the revenue keg. The sale of liquor a day before dry days peaks. But the newly elected Tamil Nadu chief minister Joseph Vijay is now faced with electoral promises. The saying in Hindi, ‘Saamp bhi marein aur lathi bhi na toote’ (the snake should die and the stick should not break) is very appropriate here. Vijay’s first cabinet meeting had TASMAC on top of the agenda. Surprisingly Minnambalam, a Tamil digital news website had surmised earlier that the plan was to close TASMAC outlets and open bars, keeping TASMAC as the nodal procurement agency. Even as confabulations are on, the Minister for Prohibition& Excise K Vignesh talked about the viability of closure of over 720 outlets and launch of a new glitzy avatar of watering holes and bars. “The corruption and swindling by a big syndicate of Rs 3600 crore per year has been stopped. For years 88 lakh cases of liquor have been sourced from distilleries with a commission of Rs 90 per case”, says Vignesh.  In the same breath he claims that there is no intention to privatise! If RK Laxman were to do a cartoon of the TASMAC ecosystem, we might laugh at the caricature of a thirsty guy pushing his way to the barred window to get his spiritual elixir, walk away cuddling the bottle with a side of pickle on a leaf. No wonder a former CM when cautioned by his advisors about lavish cash doles for women said “don’t stress. The thirsty husband will splurge that on TASMAC”. The politics of give and take.

Suryakumar Yadav had a hand in India’s back-to-back Twenty20 World Cup wins in Barbados in 2024 and Ahmedabad 2026. First, he converted a bunny hop catch to dismiss South African David Miller in the final in Barbados and two years later, he was at the helm of affairs in India. Yet, the selection committee has dropped him now from the team for the immediate Twenty20 engagements — lack of runs from his blade is the only reason the fans and others can surmise, especially so with the 2028 World Cup more than two years away in Australia and New Zealand. Yadav would have turned 38 then, and the committee felt the circumstances were right to look beyond Yadav in the shortest format of the game. Yadav was far from his best in the World Cup, scoring just 242 from nine matches. In the Asia Cup he made only 72 in seven matches. Against Australia he made only 84 in five, against South Africa 34 in four and against New Zealand 242 in five. The downhill started when he made only 26 in four matches in South Africa and 28 in five against England at home. One can say he was lucky to hold his place after the home series against England and after the Asia Cup; he was going through a rut! With Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer returning to the “good books”, Yadav had to go. Ajit Agarkar & company made Iyer captain; he lost six matches in a row as the Punjab Kings missed the playoffs bus. The selection committee may have felt that Tilak Varma is not ready yet to take up the stewardship of the Men in Blue Twenty20 team.

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...