Daily Briefing: Electoral battle begins in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu amid tight security

With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:

• West Bengal, Tamil Nadu go to polls
• India-bound ship in Hormuz hit
• Shako Bentinidis returns to India

🚨 Big Story

The first phase of polling began in West Bengal early today amid row over the mass voter deletions after months-long Special Intensive Revision exercise (SIR). Out of the total 294 Assembly constituencies, 152 will vote today. The ruling Mamata Banerjee-government is facing anti-incumbency this time over large-scale corruption, unemployment, and women safety. The Bengal battle has, therefore, taken a highly polarised turn with questions being raised on people’s voting rights. Follow live updates here.

Big Bengal Exclusion: The 19 tribunals in West Bengal have managed to clear only a total of 139 names out of the 34 lakh applications regarding the voting list pending before them, for inclusion, as polling began early on Thursday. Apart from the 139, at least a few more names among the 650-odd cases will be able to vote as they received clearance in a previous supplementary list but had applied to the tribunals due to some “concerns”, according to sources.

Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, voting for the 2026 Assembly election began at 7 AM under tight security, with large voter turnout seen across polling stations. Contesting for the 234-member Assembly are a mix of political heavyweights and new entrants. Chief Minister MK Stalin remains the central figure of the DMK-led alliance as it seeks to retain power, while AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is leading the opposition campaign from Edappadi. Follow live updates here.

⚡ Only in Express

Following the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha last week, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accusation, calling the Opposition “mahila virodhi,” there appears to be some pressure within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) itself to ensure one-third representation for women in its organisational bodies. According to the party’s official website, of the 396 national executive members, only 37, or 9%, are currently women. This comes even as BJP leaders claim no other party provides representation to women as it does. And as the newly elected party president, Nitin Nabin, announces his new team soon, all eyes will be on the representation of women within the party.

📰 From the Front Page

As the United States President announced the extension of the ceasefire with Iran on Wednesday, Iranian forces fired at three merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. One of the ships that came under attack–container ship Epaminondas–was heading to Mundra port in Gujarat. The attacks come close on the heels of US forces seizing a few Iranian oil tankers attempting to slip through its blockade. Iran has so far condemned the US blockade, calling it “armed piracy” and a breach of the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.

On the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, inaugurated by PM Modi on April 14, lies a two-storey house, which Jaipal Singh has been guarding for the past four years. In 1998, its owner refused to give up the house to the Uttar Pradesh Housing Board, and approached the Allahabad High Court, seeking a higher compensation. The court stayed the acquisition. While the house remains largely empty, and opens only when its owners arrive, Jaipal cleans it everyday. He leaves the premises briefly just for food, to a market about 1.5 km away. Here’s the full story.

Underlining that democracy is put “in peril,” if a chief minister intervenes in a probe, the Supreme Court has rejected the argument that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s alleged obstruction during an Enforcement Directorate (ED) search operation was a jurisdictional dispute between the Centre and state. This is, per se, an act committed by an individual who happens to be the chief minister, keeping the whole system and whole democracy in jeopardy,” Justice Mishra said.

📌 Must Read

Sajid, one of the victims of the Malegaon bomb blast that took place in 2006, was leaving for China to study medicine in ten days. 31 people were killed, and over 300 people were injured in the attack. Nearly two decades after the Malegaon blast, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday quashed a special court order that framed charges against the four men — the last remaining accused in the case. For victims of the blast, the development deals yet another blow to their already shaken faith. They hope the latest order will be appealed.

In our Opinion section today, R Swaminathan delves into the concessions made by Washington to keep talks with Tehran alive, with US President Donald Trump being forced to look for an off-ramp. Swaminathan writes: “… Iran may be willing to agree to a framework but without a fixed timeframe. It may also be prepared to commit to not developing very long-range missiles. Trump, on the other hand, could claim success by saying that Hezbollah has been decimated in Lebanon. These could be the off-ramps both seek.”

Our guest expert, Shruti Rajagopalan, elaborates on the process of delimitation as an act of drawing political lines. “In Indian politics, it means three things done together. Fixing the total number of Lok Sabha seats, calculating how many each state gets, and drawing the boundaries of each constituency,” Rajagopalan writes. Here’s why the Parliament froze the constituencies based on the 1971 Census.

⏳ And Finally…

Shako Bentinidis, the funny, eccentric Georgian – who can rattle out dialogues from the Hollywood blockbuster and, in the same breath, recite the spiritual sayings of Sri Sri Ravishankar – is set to return to India as the men’s freestyle coach. Shako has always been in awe of the unending, relentless stamina of Indian wrestlers, writes Mihir Vasavda. On his priority list is to make Indians mentally strong, remove inferiority complex, and make wrestlers technically sound. “I have watched Indian wrestlers, supported them, seen what has happened in India, the wins, the losses. And I think I can help India,” Shako says. “100 per cent.”

🎧 Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss the strengthening relationship between India and Korea; first anniversary of Pahalgam terror attack; and polls in West Bengal today.

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!

Until next time,
Ariba

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