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Riven with factionalism made worse by a rank and file lowering in morale, West Bengal unit of BJP is not a political outfit which has some reasons to fulfil its promise to emerge as the ruling dispensation of the state post 2026 Assembly elections. Nowhere matching its once grandiose description of the "Grand Old Party", the state Congress is just another political outfit which also ran.

The way AAP, BJP and the Congress have been trying to woo the electorates living in Delhi’s slums, unauthorized colonies, and less developed areas, it is increasingly becoming clear that the key to winning the legislative assembly elections lies with them. Over 50 per cent of the voters live in these areas, and majority of them have been behaving as collective support base of the AAP since 2013 Vidhan Sabha elections.

A video of the castaway BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma taking part in a 'Jan Jagran Yatra' ahead of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir 'pran pratishta' claiming that this was Nupur Sharma campaigning for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections was fact-checked and found wrong. Unlike 'Meta', Facebook's parent-body, India's fact-checkers hadn't succumbed to President-elect Donald Trump's my-wish-is-a-command tactic.

KOLKATA: It is time to say with a degree of confidence that an investment drought that has afflicted West Bengal all these years has started disappearing and the first signs of a sustainable improvement have become visible. The situation had turned worse after the Tatas quit the 80 per cent complete Nano car project at Singur in Hooghly district in 2008 in the face of intense agitation against land acquisition for the facility by the Left Front government. The decision of Bombay House shook the confidence of investors and for them West Bengal became a ‘no, no’ state. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who became chief minister in May 2011 and is into her third term, did not realise the implications of her action and never repented the departure of the country’s most respected and internationally acclaimed Tata Group.

In December 2024, another shocking case of violation of patients’ rights and huge financial demand by a private hospital sparked public outrage and media attention. During this incident in Pune, the family of 35-year-old Tejaswini, who passed away on December 9, 2024, was forced to resort to a hunger strike outside a prominent private hospital to claim the body of their family member.

It is only after a week of Uddhav Thackeray’s ‘Saamana’ praising its political adversary BJP leader and Chief Minister of the state Devendra Fadnavis and a reported reunion efforts between the NCP factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar, Union Minister of Home Amit Shah has said about the end of ‘Politics of Betrayal’, overtly referring to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, but covertly targeting its own allies in general across the country, and Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar in particular in Maharashtra by reminding them about the end result, in case they try to betray the BJP. It indicates Maharashtra politics is still very active beneath the surface, especially after announcement of the election result on November 23.

Prioritizing employment generation and increasing funds for employment guarantee schemes have unquestionably emerged as the top priority during pre-budget consultations of Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman for the Union Budget 2025-26, both with the Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and India Inc.

Microsoft's deepening engagement with India is both a strategic imperative and a reflection of its renewed focus on emerging technologies under the leadership of Satya Nadella. Nadella’s connection to India goes beyond his heritage; his initiatives underscore a profound appreciation for the country’s pivotal role in shaping the future of technology. As Nadella spearheads Microsoft’s ambitious AI Tour in India, the company has committed $3 billion toward AI development and the upskilling of half a million Indians in emerging AI technologies. This initiative is more than a philanthropic endeavor; it signals a deliberate strategy to cement Microsoft's relevance in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his debut podcast came out unlike a man possessed. None of his answers, revelations about his life and times, exploding like crackers. 'Forgettable' is the word that comes to mind after two hours of podcast. Podcaster Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha-fame, was "admittedly nervous" and Modi, being the generous subject, gave Kamath quarter by admitting that he, too, was in the same boat as it was his debut podcast.

I had known former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally. He released my book “Power Profiles” in his office in PMO. A few journalist friends and then his media advisor Harish Khare were present. We talked politics of that time. I used to meet him frequently after he relinquished PM’s post at his new residence. He used to tell me that I can meet him any time. He was courteous, as usual, walked up to door to see visitors.