I don’t write about politics. Not the daily noise of it. Not the scorekeeping. Not the endless churn of statements and counter-statements. I write when something shifts… Like when politics stops performing for a second and something real shows up. When geopolitics isn’t a map anymore, but a room where you can read people in…
Tamils, who vote today, are used to a political culture that sees welfare as a right (urimai), not benefaction. DMK understands that well. But, its governance deficit is what gives AIADMK an opening. Problem? It’s still seen by many as ‘reporting’ to Delhi On April 23, Tamil Nadu will elect a new assembly. While news…
Unconditional cash transfers just before elections may help fight anti-incumbency, but it bleeds the economy and has limited long-term gains in real welfare of the people A new pattern of freebie disbursement has spread its tentacles across the Indian polity, state elections at its core. Parties in govt, implement a plethora of freebies, just before…
Mamata manages to not get tainted by excesses of Trinamool’s strongmen, pitching herself as both a provider and a ‘victim’. So, her supporters can vote for her while dissing her party First phase of one of the most contested elections came to a close on a whittled electorate, and a very high turnout (of 3.6cr…
A turnout of 93.19% is hard to ignore. In the first phase of West Bengal’s assembly elections, covering 152 constituencies, 3.35 crore out of 3.61 crore registered voters cast their ballots. That is the highest participation the state has seen since Independence. The figure has drawn attention across the political spectrum. The Supreme Court has…
Counting halls have their own unique atmosphere. On 4 May 2026, in Kolkata, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s mood was one of confirmation rather than surprise. Throughout the morning, the vote leads remained steady, then grew wider, eventually forming a pattern evident in the final weeks of the campaign for anyone paying attention. The cadre entering…
For months, people laughed at Vijay. “Wrong strategy. No political experience. No alliance. Cinema crowd won’t become a vote bank.” On paper, everything he did looked like a mistake. But here’s what nobody wants to admit. In politics, the same “mistake” becomes a masterclass the day it starts working. The numbers. Before anything else. TVK…
Suvendu, Vijay have particularly tough jobs to do There was a meme doing the rounds that Bengal’s waiting a resignation letter, Tamil Nadu’s waiting an appointment letter, and Kerala’s waiting to see who’s appointed. Now one is done – Suvendu Adhikari, frontrunner for Bengal CM’s post, has the job. The second is on the boil…
Defence minister & senior BJP leader argues his party’s mission is to restore the greatness of true Bengali heritage “Hey nuton, dekha dik aarbaar, jonmero prothomo shubhokshon ” – O new one, show yourself once more, in the auspicious first moment of birth. Rabindranath Tagore wrote these words as an invocation – a prayer to…
Ever since BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from office, social media has been up in arms. A friend who opposed BJP is so upset, she is pruning her friends list of those rejoicing at the verdict. Friends who had never seemed political are suddenly posting mocking memes about Mamata Banerjee and posing in orange outfits. Virtual…
