Politics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar to enquire about his health following his discharge from a Pune hospital, remarking that Supriya Sule was “ready” to take care of the country.
The Democratic Party dealt a major blow to President Donald Trump in the 2026 US midterm elections, flipping the Georgia gubernatorial mansion with Keisha Lance Bottoms’ historic win and flipping key Senate seats in North Carolina and South Carolina. While Indian-Americans Pia Dandiya and Suhas Subramanyam captured US House seats and Aruna Miller retained Maryland’s lieutenant governorship, Trump-endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy lost Ohio’s gubernatorial race, pushing Democrats to the edge of retaking the House.
In an unprecedented political blow to the ruling National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday announced his resignation from both the party and the Lok Sabha during a massive public gathering in Budgam. Accusing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of ‘incompetence’ and betraying the 2024 Assembly mandate on Article 370, free power, and reservation reforms, Ruhullah announced plans to build an independent platform of dedicated local youth rather than join another political party.
Ahead of crucial state assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party has overhauled its nationwide organisational apparatus, naming central leaders as prabharis and co-in-charges across all 28 states and eight Union territories. Key postings see Vinod Tawde assigned Uttar Pradesh, Ram Madhav given Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, Sunil Bansal overseeing West Bengal and Telangana, and Anil Baluni elevated to coordinate the party’s combined media and social media wings.
Opposition parties mounted an aggressive offensive against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday following reports that fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi logged at least 14 formal objections over decisions tied to electoral roll revisions. As the Congress flagged institutional erosion, TMC Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien called for reviving an impeachment motion to remove the CEC.
A major rift has emerged inside Nirvachan Sadan as Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally registered at least 14 objections over 10 months against poll panel directives. Centered on the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and bypassing local registration officers via centralized IT systems, the dissent has escalated directly to the Cabinet Secretariat.
The Election Commission of India has frozen the Trinamool Congress name and ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol for the October 6 bypolls, assigning separate interim designations to factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy. Amid an urgent Supreme Court challenge by the party supremo, an emerging Congress-Mamata alignment has prompted the resignation of Trinamool’s Nandigram nominee.
The upcoming October 6 by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar have turned into a crucial referendum on Bengal’s political ground reality. While the BJP seeks to consolidate its hold, the contest between Mamata Banerjee’s loyalists and Ritabrata Banerjee’s dissident bloc will decide who commands actual public support as the state’s true opposition voice.
The fight for control of the Trinamool Congress reached the Election Commission of India on Thursday as rival camps led by Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim to the party name and symbol. With high-profile by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar scheduled for October 6, the ECI’s imminent verdict will determine which faction enters the fray as the authentic TMC.
Advertisement
