'I don't want to be called a new Indian voter when I am an old Indian voter.'
Facing revolt by 6 Lok Sabha MPs of his party, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said he was ready to quit his post if the party didn't have faith in him, while his opponent and Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde hinted at more defections from the rival camp.
The BJP's West Bengal unit chief, Samik Bhattacharya, criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, accusing it of crushing democracy and fostering lawlessness in the state. He highlighted alleged political violence, economic decline, and disrespect for constitutional posts under the TMC's rule.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has written to the Mumbai Police Commissioner, seeking action against MP Sanjay Dina Patil for allegedly threatening to "throw bombs" at protesters and claiming to have "killed five people" in the past. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured that police will take appropriate action against anyone issuing threats.
'This is a major rupture in Tamil Nadu's political order.' 'For the Dravidian parties, the message is clear: The old DMK-AIADMK binary is no longer guaranteed a future.'
Cricketer Mohammed Shami was asked to appear for the SIR verification hearing in Kolkata, officials said on Tuesday.
The campaign for elections to 51 urban local bodies, including four municipal corporations in Himachal Pradesh, concluded on Friday, with key issues including infrastructure, tourism, and fuel prices taking centre stage.
'Now if you break the party under the 10th Schedule you have to join another party.' 'You cannot join the NDA as it is not a party. You can only join another party, and that is the BJP.' 'So the question to ask is that these so-called 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs who are parting ways with the TMC, are they ready to join the BJP and accept Narendra Modi as their leader?'
The pleas challenging SIR claimed that the Election Commission does not have powers under Article 326 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules made under it to carry out SIR in a larger form.
Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Arup Chakraborty on Monday said the breakaway faction is trying to "rectify" the party, and would fight for the control of its election symbol, even as the Mamata Banerjee-led outfit termed the move illegal under the anti-defection law.
The upcoming publication of West Bengal's electoral rolls is expected to intensify political tensions and debates ahead of the Assembly elections, reflecting concerns about voter inclusion and identity.
The woman, Sushma Sanjay Gupta, resides in the Nallasopara area and her name was found half a dozen times in the roll during verification process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the TMC, accusing the party of looting West Bengal for 15 years, destroying the state's identity through corruption and infiltration, and turning Jadavpur University into a symbol of disorder.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has alleged that some Maharashtra MPs are being offered 'Rs 50 crore' to switch sides, amid intense speculation of an imminent split within the Uddhav Thackeray-led party. Raut challenged any dissidents to resign their parliamentary seats before defecting.
Few leaders since Independence have been able to establish such a direct connection with the electorate or shape the national conversation to the extent that Narendra Modi has done over the past decade, points out former Union minister Dr Karan Singh.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced a 60-day mass outreach program targeting Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe-majority assembly constituencies in West Bengal, accusing the BJP of depriving the state of funds and disrespecting marginalized communities.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced a series of welfare measures, including free refrigerators for rice ration cardholders, if the party wins the 2026 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu.
The Election Commission of India has published the final voters list for Assam after a Special Revision, deleting over 2.43 lakh names from the draft roll. The final roll comprises nearly 2.49 crore voters, a decrease of 0.97 per cent from the draft roll.
'98 lakhs in Bengal, 97 lakhs in Tamil Nadu, 2.83 crores in Uttar Pradesh.'
The BJP's West Bengal unit chief, Samik Bhattacharya, has criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, accusing it of crushing democracy and creating a lawless environment in the state. He highlighted political violence, rising debt, and a lack of investor confidence as key issues under the TMC's rule.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections were marred by widespread complaints of voter list discrepancies, missing names, and confusion, impacting voters and election staff alike.
'Something could happen to me... I understood that day itself that what they had sent me was a final warning.'
'Why are we deliberately taking apart an electoral system that has worked?' 'There is no answer to that, and there is no data and has never been any on the absurd slander that foreigners are voting here,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Immigrants' contribution to the US economy is disproportionate to their share of the population, meaning that losing them would shrink the economy even more than losing a random group of Americans, points out Sree Sreenivasan.
Mumbai civic polls recorded a voter turnout of 52.94 per cent, a decrease from the 55.53 per cent recorded in the 2017 elections. Counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 10 am at 25 centers across the city.
The electorate did not vote for the BJP as much as they voted against the TMC. This is an important distinction that the new government will ignore at its own peril, points out Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
The BJP team under the new national president Nitin Nabin, who took charge in January, is expected to be announced within this month, with sources suggesting that some holding positions in the government may move to the party.
'My vote has gone for better education, health, and jobs for the youth, as I am one'
The 2026 election appears to have reinforced a new political formula in Assam: Strong organisation, continuous grassroots engagement, effective alliance management and welfare-based voter outreach.
A significant 7.87 per cent increase in the BJP's vote share in West Bengal, reaching 45.84 per cent, propelled the party to secure an additional 130 assembly seats, bringing their total to 207, while the Trinamool Congress experienced a 7.22 per cent decline, losing 135 seats and falling to 80.
'The nepotism, corruption, bad governance and 15 years of rampant crime that has happened across West Bengal under her rule led to her ouster.'
Hopefully, the BJP will realise that it's the right time for parivartan (change) in its polarising poll strategies after achieving the impossible-looking goal of winning West Bengal, argues Sheela Bhatt.
A month after losing power in West Bengal and facing a rebellion by 58 MLAs, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) confronts an unprecedented challenge to Mamata Banerjee's absolute authority, raising questions about the party's survival and future.
The delimitation in Assam has quietly changed the political scene, raising questions about whether new constituency boundaries helped the BJP by spreading out Muslim-majority voters.
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 BJP must respect Bengal's pluralistic ethos and with this historic mandate give the state the constructive change it truly deserves, expects Kolkata native Payal Singh Mohanka.
The extent of doubts over the fairness of this election can be assessed by juxtaposing two figures: Total votes polled by the two principal parties and the number of people who were disallowed from voting this time, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
For over a decade, the TMC's dominance in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur rested on a near-complete consolidation of Muslim votes, a bloc that accounts for 50 per cent or more of the population in large parts of this belt.
'People don't like leaders who just crib and complain without offering a clear objective.' 'Theoretically and pragmatically, Rahul has to show an agenda beyond bad-mouthing Mr Modi on economic policies, foreign policy...'
'If the Opposition associates itself too much with the minorities, then it becomes easy for the BJP to get Hindu consolidation votes.'
