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The sweeping victory of the Trinamool Congress candidates in the by polls held to the six assembly constituencies in Bengal on November 20, has surpassed even the wildest expectations of the TMC leadership. Out of the six seats, one Madarihat seat was with the BJP while the other five seats were with the TMC in the 2021 assembly elections. In the by polls, the results of which were announced on November 23, the TMC not only retained its five seats with much bigger margins but also defeated the BJP candidate by more than 30,000 votes, thereby securing all the six seats. In 2021 polls, the BJP won Madarihat seat by trouncing TMC by 29,000 votes.

The US chargesheet against the Adani group and the arrest warrant issued against Gautam Adani are the strongest indictment yet of the crony capitalism that has been playing out on the sides under the Narendra Modi government. The new developments shed light on the group's rapid expansion, often facilitated by connections to influential political figures and government institutions.

COP29 came out with a new draft finance deal on the last day of the summit on November 22, but it frustrated the stakeholders so much that they dubbed it a ‘slap on the face’. It had proposed $250 billion yearly, but left out specifics on how these funds will be raised, such as grants, loans, government sector, public sector, or private sector. Such a level of criticism triggered a closed door talks that overran the scheduled time throughout the night, and the sources say that the COP29 summit has raised the finance target to $300 billion per year by 2035.

Devendra Fadnavis, likely to be appointed Maharashtra Chief Minister, tweeted 'Ek Hai toh safe hai’ as the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance was heading for sure-shot victory, concluding with ‘Modi hai toh Mumkin hai’. This, as celebration broke outside his residence and women in pink (the colour of ‘Ladli Behan Yojana’) danced and proclaimed him the next Maharashtra Chief Minister while somebody was heard saying, “Fadnavis Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi Ka Ladla Hai”.

KOLKATA: Voters in Jharkhand has rejected outright the contention of the BJP top brass led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that infiltration from Bangladesh has been changing the demography of the state's tribal areas and that they should overwhelmingly vote for BJP as it alone can solve the serious issue of infiltration and work for Jharkhand's allround development.

HELSINKI: In Finland, the liberal-conservative National Coalition Party and the far-right Finns Party, whose members together add up to nearly 90 percent of the current government, have united around a shared political project: authoritarian neoliberalism. The right-wing government is taking from the poor to give to the rich while dismantling Finland’s rule-of-law state and civil society.

The real import of the US department of justice (DOJ) indictment of Indian billionaire, Gautam Adani, on counts of corruption and bribery has been somewhat lost on the wider public. It is the geo-economics of US dominion over the rest of the world that has to be taken note of. It is extension of US heft far beyond its backyard.

Media should stop using “alleged” when reporting billionaire Gautam Adani's many exploits. Why will someone so stinking rich need to bribe and commit fraud? "Alleged" robs the seriousness of the charge, and partially exonerates the man, who has friends in high places, which is all the more reason for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe, which will also clear Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the charge of guilt by association.

After elections are over in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the next electoral battlefield Delhi has come into focus, where election is scheduled to be held early next year before the term of its Vidhan Sabha expires on February 23, 2025. Political posturing of the major political parties, chiefly the ruling AAP in the state and the ruling BJP at the Centre, has become interesting with turncoats taking political centrestage.

India's aim to achieve 500 Giga Watt (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030 is facing a roadblock. At this critical juncture it is faced with a shortage of 1.2 million skilled workers in the renewable energy sector. This target is pivotal for the meeting of international climate commitments. It is more than a technical shortcoming.