Twenty-three Opposition parties have sent a letter to Chief Justice Surya Kant expressing its concerns about the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The exact contents of the letter were not immediately known.

Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said that the Opposition had urged the judiciary to look into the manner in which the exercise was “being manipulated” by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The decision to write to the chief justice was taken at the INDIA bloc meeting on June 8. Though the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Aam Aadmi Party had skipped the Opposition alliance meeting, they also signed the letter. Read on.

A question to ask as the INDIA bloc turns three: Where is it going?

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLC Sachin Ahir filed his nomination for the post of deputy chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council on behalf of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance. He filed the nomination in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, indicating that he has switched sides to the ruling alliance.

Uddhav Sena leader Ambadas Danve said that MLC Jagannath Abhyankar would be the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s candidate for the post.

The development comes eight days after six of the Uddhav Sena’s nine Lok Sabha MPs joined the Shinde Sena. Ahir was considered a confidante of Uddhav Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray. Read on.

The Congress’ Maharashtra unit leader Vijay Wadettiwar said that talks about a merger between his party and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) are underway. “Those who subscribe to the secular ideals of the Congress and Sharad Pawar are always welcome in our party,” he added.

Sharad Pawar founded the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999 after he broke away from the Congress. The NCP had split in two in 2023 when Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar, along with several party MLAs, joined the Mahayuti government comprising the BJP and the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde. Read on.

The Supreme Court declined to grant bail to religious leader Asumal Harpalani, also known as Asaram Bapu, in a 2013 case pertaining to the rape of a minor. The bench sought a response from the Rajasthan government within three weeks to Asaram’s plea challenging the Rajasthan High Court’s May decision upholding his conviction in the case.

It said it would consider granting interim bail to Asaram only if there was a grave medical necessity, “such as danger to life”. Read on.

The sowing of kharif crops has fallen by 22.7% as compared to last year. This came as the delayed southwest monsoon slowed planting in several states.

As of Thursday, the area under kharif crop cultivation was at 182.7 lakh hectares, down from 236.4 lakh hectares in 2025, as per data released by the Union government. Oilseeds recorded the steepest decline, with acreage falling 53.3%. While cotton acreage declined by 34.6%, paddy sowing fell 25.2%.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast seasonal rainfall at 90% of the long-period average this year. Read on.

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