Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rekha Gupta has been named Delhi’s next chief minister, becoming the party’s first chief minister in the capital in 26 years. She will be sworn in on Thursday, following the BJP’s victory in the February 8 Assembly polls. It won 48 seats in the 70-member house.

The Aam Aadmi Party secured 21 seats. The Congress did not win any but increased its vote share. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal conceded defeat, saying his party would play the role of a constructive Opposition.

Former Chief Minister Atishi criticised the BJP for delaying government formation in Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party had been in power in Delhi since 2013, except for a brief period of President’s Rule. The Aam Aadmi Party-Congress alliance had lost all seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in 2024. Read on.

United States President Donald Trump said he had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Washington that India “would not be spared” from the reciprocal tariffs being imposed by the US. “Nobody can argue with me” on the tariff structure, Trump said in an interview to Fox News.

He also defended his administration’s decision to cancel the $21 million funds allegedly provided to the nonprofit the United States Agency for International Development to support “voter turnout” in India.

Reacting to the US president’s statements, the Congress party on Wednesday said that “this talk of reciprocal tariffs” was calling into question consumption taxes such as the Goods and Services Tax. Sharing an article published on Scroll, party leader Jairam Ramesh also said that “national sovereignty was at stake” due to the tariffs. More on Scroll.

The United States has asked for India’s help to serve its complaint to Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in an alleged $265 million bribery and fraud case. Gautam Adani was indicted in the case in November.

The US Department of Justice had alleged that executives of the conglomerate participated in a scheme to bribe officials in India for solar energy contracts, then misrepresented the company’s anti-bribery practices to investors in the United States.

At the time, the Indian government stated that it views the development as a legal matter involving private companies, individuals and the US Justice Department. Read on.

Adani US indictment: The Indian solar deals for which Rs 2,029 crore was allegedly paid in bribes

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath has dismissed reports that high levels of bacteria commonly found in excreta were detected in the river water in which pilgrims take a holy dip during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. He claimed that the water at the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati is fit for “achaman”, or the ceremonial practice of sipping holy water.

The Central Pollution Control Board had told the National Green Tribunal on February 3 that river water quality at the Maha Kumbh pilgrimage site was not suitable for bathing due to high levels of fecal coliform. Fecal coliform bacteria are microbes that typically live in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and are found in their excreta.

Adityanath, however, claimed that reports of water contamination were part of a conspiracy to defame the Maha Kumbh. More on Scroll.

The Lokayukta Police on Wednesday stated that there was “no evidence” against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and wife Parvathi in the Mysore Urban Development Authority scam case. A final report was filed in the High Court and a notice was sent to the complainant.

The case pertains to the allotment of 14 high-value housing sites in Mysuru’s Vijaynagar area to Parvathi in 2021 in exchange for 3.1 acres of land that she owned in another part of the city. The land was allegedly illegally acquired from Dalit families.

Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, her brother Mallikarjuna Swamy and a person named Devaraju were booked by the anti-corruption ombudsman in September. Swamy had reportedly purchased the land in question from Devaraju and gifted it to Parvathi. In October, Parvathi had offered to return the plots. Read on.