Daily Briefing: As BJP prepares to take charge in Bengal, Mamata refuses to quit

• Mamata refuses to resign as CM
• A Vijay blockbuster
• Delhi’s opportunity in the East

🚨 Big Story

Frontrunner: Giant-killer Suvendu Adhikari, who spearheaded the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) offensive in West Bengal, breaching the Trinamool Congress (TMC) citadel to end Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule, is now the frontrunner for the post of Chief Minister in the state. Hailing the party’s election victory as “a triumph for every patriotic nationalist and every BJP worker,” Adhikari, who defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur and won from Nandigram, said that the BJP was committed to “a developed, prosperous and secure West Bengal”. According to party sources, the swearing-in ceremony could be held on May 9.

Mamata’s reaction: A day after the BJP swept West Bengal, a defiant Mamata Banerjee said that she would not visit the Lok Bhavan to submit her resignation to the governor. She alleged that TMC candidates, including herself, were assaulted inside counting centres and votes were looted through EVM manipulation. “We have not been defeated. I have not been defeated. I will not resign. There is no question of my going to the Raj Bhawan,” she said, adding, “in this election, the BJP and the Election Commission played a dirty game. They forcefully grabbed votes.” Banerjee lost to the BJP’s Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes in Bhabanipur.

BJP’s engineering: According to BJP leaders, the results of the poll results in West Bengal was not a product of a fleeting wave or simple anti-incumbency, but the outcome of a carefully structured campaign that reconfigured long-standing voting patterns across regions. Although internal assessments conducted before the polls suggested that the TMC retained its advantage in constituencies with significant Muslim populations, the BJP held a lead of roughly three percentage points, indicating that its ground-level mobilisation and voter targeting had delivered results. Here’s what BJP did to sweep Bengal polls.

Exclusive: The Congress’s Lok Sabha whip and Tamil Nadu MP Manickam Tagore, in an interview to The Indian Express, weighs in on the Assembly election results 2026. The outcome, he says, was as much a verdict against the DMK-led government as it was a rejection of “entry of hate into Tamil Nadu”. Actor Vijay, whose TVK emerged as the single-largest party, did not align with the BJP, he says, and that the Congress “should do whatever it takes to protect the secular space of Tamil Nadu”. Here are the excerpts.

⚡ Only in Express

“I did not enter homes after launching TVK… I launched TVK only after entering every home through cinema.”

In a state where cinema has been a key medium to represent and reinforce Tamil/Dravidian culture and identity politics, Vijay fits into a familiar pattern — as exhibited by C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi, M G Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, who commanded both cinematic and political loyalty. Yet, there’s a difference. While MGR came from within the Dravidian movement before launching the AIADMK, Vijay’s politics did not grow out of party apprenticeship or public agitation. It grew from fandom, then welfare activity, then carefully rationed political speech. To understand Vijay’s politics, one must first understand Vijay the screen figure. Here’s what makes him mysterious.

📰 From the Front Page

As actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) prepares to rule Tamil Nadu, thanks to its incredible election victory, the focus is now on the expansive promises listed in its manifesto. His manifesto includes Rs 2,500 every month to women heads of households, six free LPG cylinders per household every year, a grant of Rs 4,000 per month for 10 lakh unemployed graduates — and much more. The promises could lead to projected annual expenditure on welfare close to Rs 1 lakh crore — an increase of over 52% from the Rs 65,000 crore spent by the previous DMK government on welfare schemes and subsidies in 2025-26.

Until a month ago, all Motab Shaikh hoped for was to make it to the West Bengal electoral roll. Now, the 58-year-old is one of only two candidates of the Congress to have won in the state, keeping alive hopes of the party. Here’s how things went for Shaikh: His name was deleted as a voter after adjudication, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Shaikh then approached the Supreme Court to urge the tribunals to hear his case on priority. On April 5, a day before the deadline to file nominations for the first-phase seats, the apex court ruled in Shaikh’s favour. On April 6, Shaikh filed his papers from the Farakka Assembly seat. On Monday, he got 63,050 votes to win the constituency by a margin of more than 8,000.

📌 Must Read

New opportunities: With the BJP’s rise in West Bengal and consolidation in Assam, it’s a rare political opportunity for India to revitalise its engagement with its eastern neighbor. Underlining that for the first time ever, “the political geography within India and across its eastern periphery are in alignment with an ambitious regional agenda,” C Raja Mohan highlights the challenges and sustainable opportunities that emerge with the rebuilding of regional cooperation beyond Delhi, that is, in the East.

In our Opinion section today, Shashi Tharoor delves into the “Francis Fukuyama moment” for Communists in India, as India, for the first time in nearly 50 years, is without a single Communist-led state government. Tharoor writes: “Today’s crisis isn’t merely one of arithmetic; it’s one of language. The Indian Left has struggled to find a new vocabulary for a “New India”. They have never quite come to terms with the economy of aspiration. Historically, the Left drew its strength from organised labour and agrarian reform. But since the 1990s, India’s growth has been driven by services, gig work, and a soaring middle-class aspiration.”

⏳ And Finally…

Overdependence?: For Chennai Super Kings, it was yet again a victory on the field. The team managed to keep the feel good vibes on, with a third successive win at the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday. Thanks to their ‘Chetta,’ who guided them to a comfortable win at the end. “Sanju Samson, got two hundred in the first season for his new franchise, but his unbeaten innings of 87 off 52 balls on Tuesday showed that he has become a changed player since his heroics in the T20 World Cup,” Tushar Bhaduri describes. Even as Samson hit every ball to the boundary and beyond, he couldn’t have done it all by himself. The match required a foil and young Kartik Sharma played an impressive hand.

🎧 Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss the reasons behind BJP’s massive victory in Assam Assembly elections 2026; wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s admission of being a victim to sexual harassment; as well as the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme in West Bengal after BJP’s win in the state.

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

Until next time,
Ariba

Business As Usual by E P Unny