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KOLKATA: The four Assembly by-polls in West Bengal, one of which is scheduled to be held at Maniktala in Kolkata and the others to be contested at Bagda, Ranaghat Dakshin and Raigunj hold differing political significance to Trinamool Congress and the Opposition comprising BJP, Left Front and Congress. While Maniktala Assembly segment has been vacated by the death of the sitting MLA, Sadhan Pandey, two other Assembly seats are going for the by-polls as the legislators representing them had stepped down to contest the parliamentary polls.

General election results in India have always been extraordinary and have thrown new set of political leaders. This year’s polls while were a moral victory for the INDIA bloc and marked the setback to communal politics, it also threw two young leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in public arena who exhibited rare wisdom of taking on the rightist and communal forces head on and defeating them convincingly in the battle field. Their gains are of paramount importance for the reason that they could accomplish their mission at a time when most of the master-politicians, leaders of the people, had preferred to play safe and refrain from confronting Narendra Modi, who is acting as the mascot of the communal forces in the country.

The BJP has ensured that the three new laws passed by the government at the tail end of the last Lok Sabha in a most cavalier and undemocratic fashion have now been enforced all over the country on July 1. These laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam have replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by Naveen Patnaik, five-time Chief Minister of Odisha, had been a trusted informal ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a decade since 2014, but after being greatly suffering twin election debacles – both for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha – at the hands of the BJP in 2024, BJD has turned latter’s bitter foe. BJD MPs joined the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s walk-out from the Rajya Sabha on July 3, for the second time after the first on June 28.

The non-Hindu people in Hindustan “must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, […] must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of Hindu race and culture, […] or (they) may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privilege, far less any preferential treatment – not even citizen’s right”.

The last one week has brought such a change in Jharkhand politics that BJP has never expected. Former Chief Minister Hemant Soren is out on bail, and leading the INDIA bloc again from the front, much to the frustration of the BJP leadership. Election to the 81 member Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha is to be completed before January 5, 2025, the date on which the term of the House is to expire, which may be held sooner by 2024 end.

The first short session of the 18th Lok Sabha has just ended with the third time Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving the impression once again that nothing different happened in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, he remains the same unvanquished leader of the majority party BJP like he was after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Modi behaved in the same manner to the opposition in this short session and his reply in Lok Sabha to the debate in President's address made it clear that he remains the same majoritarian leader and not the Prime Minister of the entire nation.

It was a shaken and short of self confidence Narendra Modi on July 2 in Parliament.. Notwithstanding being insipid and incoherent, his reply to motion on President’s speech was purely an attempt to gain back his aura of “Political Invincibility”, which unfortunately he could not accomplish. Modi having the reputation of a flawless orator and articulator of ideas, was falling short of words to convey his mind. He was seen faltering and getting stuck up midway. Unlike his earlier speeches, on Tuesday , he read out from the script with frequently sipping water kept on his desk, after every couple of sentences.

The RSS hints at the course correction from the BJP and Modi government 3.0, which it wants to be reflected in the choice of new party president.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his reply to the motion of thanks to the President's address to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after a day of holding forth in the Lok Sabha. The opposition sought to drown Modi’s voice in the din of constant sloganeering. The Prime Minister did not let the noise get under his skin – allow the unending interruptions to spoil his day out in the Rajya Sabha.