Author: Tirthankar Mitra
The appointment of Suvendu Adhikari as the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal on May 9, 2026, represents one of the most ironic and stark shifts in Indian political history. The very “Grammar of Singur-Nandigram” that birthed the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year reign has effectively collapsed, dismantled from within by the man who once served as its premier field commander. Unlike a mandate imposed by a national wave, Adhikari’s triumph is a surgical deconstruction of the TMC system—leveraging its own district networks and emotional vocabulary to replace regional autonomy with a narrative of border security and demographic anxiety. As West Bengal begins to mirror the political trajectory of Assam, Adhikari faces the Herculean task of transitioning from a combative street mobilizer to an administrator capable of nursing a fragile economy back to health, lest the state merely trade one culture of confrontation for another.
A man’s legacy is defined by what he has achieved. Going this yardstick, Ted Turner leaves a legacy which to be described rich would be an understatement.
With the death of Raghu Rai, the country has lost one of its most influential visual storytellers. His portraits reflected the aesthetics he had perfected over the decades.
In a masterstroke of “street food diplomacy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned humble Bengali snacks into the center of a national digital frenzy. After the PM sampled Jhal Muri in Jhargram and Bhabra Bhaja in Purulia, search queries for the spicy puffed rice reportedly crossed 10 crore, thrusting local delicacies into the global spotlight. Modi used the gesture to launch a rhetorical broadside against the Trinamool Congress, promising to serve these very snacks at the BJP’s “victory celebrations” on May 4. While the TMC remains uncharacteristically quiet—wary of contradicting Mamata Banerjee’s own past endorsements of the “telebhaja” economy—analysts view this culinary outreach as a powerful effort to connect with the common man, mirroring the crunch and heat of a high-decibel election trail.
In the most anticipated showdown of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faces a fierce challenge from her former ally turned rival, Suvendu Adhikari, in her home bastion of Bhabanipur. While the TMC holds a psychological edge following the defection of the lone BJP councilor from Ward 73, Adhikari is banking on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, which saw over 44,000 names deleted or flagged for discrepancy. With the BJP having narrowed the TMC’s lead to just 8,297 votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the saffron camp is eyeing a historic upset. However, Banerjee—the “girl next door” who won by over 58,000 votes in 2021—has launched an intimate, three-pronged campaign to reaffirm her bond with the constituency’s diverse Hindu, Sikh, and Gujarati communities before the crucial April 29 vote
It was considered next to impossible for any female playback singer to emerge past the shadow of Lata Mangeshkar, the nation’s melody queen. But this feat was achieved by Asha Bhosle, who passed away recently.
General Min Aung Hlaing had been made the President of Myanmar. This is a refinement and not a transition in the politics of the troubled country.
Her beauty did not launch a thousand ships but it certainly made a million hearts flutter whenever Suchitra Sen appeared on screen or was seen by a fortunate few who talked about it was a lifetime experience. Ever since her first hit Share Chuattor, and long after she left her acting career, time has been unable to dim her beauty and her performances even on her 96th birth anniversary today.
The Red Corridor took root in areas marked by multiple state abdications and political failures. It’s fallout was the long stretch on which Maoist insurrection cast a shadow for almost six decades.
Inarguably, Paris is fashion capital of the world. Small wonder, it would emerge as a pioneer in thrift of an essential part of our everyday dress-up – footwear.