Mumbai: Shiv Sena Minister Sanjay Shirsat has inadvertently fueled opposition propaganda. While reacting to an editorial in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana on Saturday he suggested that his party and the BJP could contest the 2029 elections separately. The statement strengthens the UBT’s ongoing narrative that the BJP plans to sideline its current alliance partners. Shirsat essentially validated these opposition speculations instead of firmly dismissing them. The Saamana e

Assam and West Bengal signalled a broader political shift: traditional regional loyalties no longer guarantee voter allegiance. The political landscape of eastern India has undergone a profound transformation over the past decade, culminating in significant electoral victories for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in states like Assam and, to a more complex extent, its rise as a dominant challenger in West Bengal. These developments are not isolated electoral outcomes but refl

The Union Cabinet’s decision to raise the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane for the 2026–27 season to Rs. 365 per quintal, based on a 10.25 percent recovery rate, represents a deliberate strengthening of rural incomes and sectoral stability Aimed at benefiting nearly five crore farmers, it will be a major bounty for farmers in Maharashtra’s sugar-rich western belt. The increase of 2.81 percent over the previous season ensures that cane remains one of the few cro

The Bargi Dam tragedy exposes India’s dangerous neglect of inland water safety. The recent capsizing of a tourist boat at Bargi Dam near Jabalpur, which claimed multiple lives, is a stark reminder of a deeper and systemic failure in the approach to inland water safety. Early reports point to a familiar and disturbing pattern: inadequate safety measures, questionable operational decisions in adverse weather, and a lack of effective regulatory monitoring and enforcement. Yet, t

Writing this piece, I find myself thinking of Shakespeare’s Margaret. Those who have read the Henry plays or Richard III will understand why. Margaret rose from nothing to the heart of English royal power. She fought, she governed, and she eventually became an irrelevant shadow haunting the court of her enemies, clutching at past glories, refusing to accept defeat. On the political stage of West Bengal, that scene has just been performed again. Let me go back a little to some

Luminaries of science and industry at the launch of "Guru of Gurus" at the ICT in Mumabi. Mumbai: In an evening marked by deep reverence and scientific celebration, eminent scientist Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar paid a moving tribute to his mentor, Padma Vibhushan awardee Prof. Man Mohan Sharma. The heartfelt reverence took center stage at the K.V. Auditorium of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), where academicians, students, and industry leaders gathered to honor o

New Delhi: The recent electoral outcomes in West Bengal are more than mere numbers, but they carry a clear message that Bengali Hindus are now openly voicing their demands for security, dignity, and a future of young and next generation. For the past fifty years, and especially over the last fifteen, the Hindu community in the state has often been treated as second-class citizens. Their lands have been encroached upon, their homes and families threatened, and their social, cu

People cover themselves during heavy snowfall at Kedarnath Temple on Tuesday. Bollywood filmmaker and producer Karan Johar during the 2026 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday. People offers prayers at Bade Hanuman Temple on the first Tuesday (Bada Mangal) of 'Jyeshtha' month in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday. A school student displays a painting depicting 'Operation Sindoor' ahead of its anniversary in Jammu on Tuesday. Priests perform

Bengal has long stood as one of India’s foremost civilizational heartlands—a land of Vedic wisdom, Shakti worship, Bhakti, intellectual renaissance, revolutionary nationalism, and cultural brilliance. Yet this same sacred geography also endured successive centuries of political dislocation through Islamic invasions, colonial domination, Partition, ideological Leftism, and prolonged appeasement-driven politics. When the Sena dynasty fell in 1204 CE under the assault of Bakhtiy

Financial freedom is not about owning everything today; it is about the ability to choose tomorrow. Bharath, a 34-year-old salaried professional in Pune, earns Rs 85,000 a month. On paper, he’s doing well. He owns a 2BHK apartment, drives a decent car, recently upgraded to a premium smartphone, and his home is filled with modern appliances. But by the 25th of every month, his bank balance is close to zero. Where does the money go? A closer look reveals the answer: EMIs. Rs 32

For over half a century, Tamil Nadu’s politics rested on a comforting certainty that while power would alternate, it would never escape the gravitational pull of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. This binary was treated akin to a law of nature. Now, in a single election, Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) have rewritten the old grammar of Dravidian politics that has painstakingly been constructed since 1967. Vijay has di

By dismantling old certainties, voters in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have exposed the fragility of India’s most durable political models. While Assembly elections often promise upheaval, rarely do they deliver it with such clinical force. The 2026 Assembly results in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have produced a seismic shift by dismantling long-standing political narratives. In Kerala, the fall of the Communist-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) ends nearly half-a-century in which the Left

The 2026 Assembly poll results have shown that India’s voters are shifting from familiarity to aspiration by rewarding those leaders and parties who promise a credible path to the future. Something significant has shifted in Indian politics, and we are still trying to explain it using the comfort of old ideas. For decades, we believed elections in India were won on the strength of grassroots connection. The party that knew the people best, that walked their streets, spoke the

BJP candidate for Bhabanipur and Nandigram constituencies Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the prestigious Bhabanipur seat, shows a certificate of election on Monday. Pic: PTI Mumbai: The Bengali word “Poriborton” translates to profound change. While it was initially fiercely utilized as the central battle cry for the assembly elections in West Bengal, the final tally from all five state elections reveals that the spirit of the word

BJP's Bengal 2026 victory stemmed from grassroots organization, "Panna Pramukh" strategy, high turnout, anti-incumbency, youth support, targeted campaigns, and Amit Shah's planning, turning electoral psychology into decisive political success. New Delhi: Major shifts in Indian politics are rarely born out of noise, but they emerge from the quiet, layered execution of strategy and patience. The 2026 West Bengal election results reaffirm this enduring truth. This is not merely

Mumbai: A Nashik Sessions Court – which declined anticipatory bail to a woman employee of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in an alleged conversion case – has observed that the charges against her point to a ‘systematic and organised attempt’ to influence and push a female Dalit colleague towards changing her religion. Additional Sessions Judge K. G. Joshi said that the nature of accusations against the accused – Nida Ejaz Khan – pointed to a deliberated pattern rather than an

Macaques swim in a pond at Galta Ji temple during the summer season in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on Sunday. MGNREGA workers at a work site amid the rollout of e-KYC-based digital attendance and payment system in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on Monday. A blue adjutant dragonfly perches on a lotus flower at a lake in Vastare near Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, on Monday. Participants sing and dance during the 11th Annual D.C. Holi Festival of Colors celebration at the Bull Run Regional Park in

While we have gained privacy and independence, we have lost the ease and warmth of everyday connection. As I look around at life in today’s high-rise buildings, particularly in a dense and fast-moving city like Mumbai, one thing becomes increasingly and unmistakably clear—our homes have grown taller and more vertical, but our connections, in many ways, have grown quieter and more distant. We live stacked floor above floor, often separated not just by concrete walls and closed