In this edition of Election Despatch, India Today's Preeti Chaudhry brings this ground report from West Bengal's Sundarbans as the state votes in the first of assembly elections. The report highlights a complex political landscape marked by anti-incumbency sentiments and deep polarisation. In the Sundarbans, residents face severe livelihood crises, climate challenges, and frequent tiger attacks while collecting crabs in the mangrove forests. Villagers weave nylon nets provided by the forest department for protection, yet casualties remain high, forcing many to migrate for work. The electorate remains divided, balancing immediate survival concerns in ecologically fragile zones with broader ideological and political loyalties ahead of the polls.
The UK and European nations are quietly easing sanctions on Russian oil due to soaring fuel prices following the Strait of Hormuz closure amid the US-Iran war.
A political row has erupted in West Bengal after the Suvendu Adhikari-led government made the recitation of Vande Mataram compulsory in madrasas and schools.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is all set to complete twelve years in office this month and will enter the third year of its third term.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, prominent economist and former IMF executive director Surjit Bhalla discussed India's economic performance and the decline in foreign direct investment since 2015.
