A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reveals that a significant number of candidates contesting the first phase of the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has demanded the immediate disqualification of six party MPs who defected to the Eknath Shinde-led camp, alleging a larger political conspiracy. He accused the BJP of exploiting the Ram Mandir issue and systematically sidelining its own state leaders, while also questioning the rebel MPs' motives and wealth.
Election affidavits in Assam have unveiled significant financial disparities among key candidates, with some declaring extensive assets, multiple bank accounts, and numerous vehicles, while others report more modest holdings.
A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reveals a significant increase in West Bengal MLAs with declared criminal cases, rising from 49% in 2021 to 65% in the latest assembly. The report also highlights a rise in the number of 'crorepati' MLAs.
Both the political executive in New Delhi and the newly elected political dispensation in Kolkata must be careful to ensure that their image is not tarnished by induction of undesirable elements in the name of political expediency, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reveals that half of the newly appointed Tamil Nadu Cabinet ministers have criminal cases against them, while 20 per cent possess assets exceeding Rs 100 crore.
Market maven Andrew Holland on why India missed the AI wave, why FIIs are leaving, why he personally invests in cryptocurrencies and why he's still betting big on the country.
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
What lessons opposition parties need to learn post defeat of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal elections? The election saw spectacular victor of BJP which rose from 3 seats in 2016 to 206 seats in 2026 assembly elections.
'The AIADMK will lose a lot of votes simply because it is aligned with the BJP.'
A new report reveals that nearly half of West Bengal's MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves, and over half are crorepatis. The report analyses the criminal, financial, and educational backgrounds of the state's legislators based on affidavits submitted during the 2021 elections.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demands cancellation of civic elections where candidates won unopposed, alleging corruption and manipulation by ruling parties. He also criticizes the Maharashtra legislative assembly speaker and the misuse of BMC funds.
'I suspect that Bangladesh being given permission stuck in India's official craw, and this story was an attempt to balance the scales by giving the impression that a similar waiver had been given to India as well.'
'Women in crime can turn on and off emotions like a tap.' 'Something that comes in the way of their goals can be eliminated without a second thought.'
Yes, the entry of private bankers, particularly with global experience will add value to PSBs, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
India's BFSI sector is set for robust growth, with hiring projected to rise 8.7 per cent in 2025-26 and touch 10 per cent by 2030, creating nearly 2.5 lakh permanent jobs, a report said on Thursday. This growth in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector is being driven by rising demand in tier II and III cities, marking a clear shift from metro-centric recruitment.
'When honest, wealthy people come forward to serve India, people should feel proud and welcome them.'
Moveable assets accounted for 46 per cent of the wealth of the 10 richest candidates in the first phase of the 2024 elections.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
They are not just underreporting income; they are reshaping what the income tax system perceives, says study.
'Earlier, we used to talk about a deficit economy. There is a deficit in democracy' 'If you read superficially Gandhi and Ambedkar and Nehru, some misconceptions and misunderstanding come to mind, as if they were at loggerheads and they differed radically in their views' 'India is one nation. There is only one citizenship. No citizenship for South India and no citizenship for North India and another for the Northeast'
'And then the people who call themselves great nationalists, I can bet you that 99 per cent of them are dodging taxes, have sent their kids to America, or are doing everything to make sure that what goes on in this country doesn't affect their personal wealth or their whatever bull*&$%.'
The Congress wants to reinforce the tax more powerfully now after its four generations reaped benefit of the wealth passed on to them, he said.
'I tried a public donation drive to support my campaign for progressive politics without much success so far. I also tried to cut down the projected campaign spending to the minimum'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
Sucharita Mohanty, the daughter of former Congress MP Brajamohan Mohanty, in a mail to Venugopal on Friday claimed that her campaign was hit hard because the party denied her funding.
With declared assets worth over Rs 600 crore, Chennur Congress candidate G Vivekananda is the richest politician contesting in the November 30 assembly polls, followed by P Srinivas Reddy from the same party with over Rs 460 crore.
Metreweli, 47, has been promoted from current role as Director General, or 'Q', responsible for technology and innovation in MI6 and has previously held a director-level role at MI5 - the UK's domestic security service.
Thirty-one of the 70 candidates elected to the eighth Delhi Assembly have declared criminal cases against their names, according to poll rights body ADR. The figure is lower than the 43 MLAs in the seventh assembly who had declared criminal cases. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Delhi Election Watch, which analysed the affidavits submitted by all 699 candidates who contested the assembly elections, said the number of winning candidates with serious criminal cases remained a concern. The analysis found that 17 newly-elected candidates were facing serious criminal cases, including those related to attempted murder and crimes against women. The analysis also highlighted the growth in assets of re-elected MLAs. The 22 candidates re-elected to the House saw their average assets rise 25 per cent from Rs 7.04 crore in 2020 to Rs 8.83 crore in 2025.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
Sudha and Akshata Murthy's candid confessions about each other.
'My advice: Don't mark your portfolio to market every day. Focus on survival.'
'You think: Did I fail the people I had to let go? Did I promise something I couldn't deliver? That day (when we had to sack 70 people) will stay with me.'
Modi on Sunday suggested that if the Congress came to power, it would redistribute the wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
'Someone posts a job on LinkedIn and there are a thousand resumes in an hour? This is not the America IT professionals are used to.' 'Once they lose their job, it's impossible to get a job.'
'All my wealth I earned in the US. It is all money earned transparently. I have paid all taxes.'
'Does 99 percent guarantee character and capacity for an independent awareness of life or does it make you -- barring exceptions -- a compliant careerist beholden to governments and corporations?' 'What kind of political and social choices would such minds make?' asks Shyam G Menon.
Forty-two of the 102 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the general election's first phase are constituencies that have three or more candidates facing criminal cases, according to a poll rights body.
