The Editorial Page: Why AAP’s breakup matters and can an Opposition-free India be far behind? 12 WEdNESdAY, APRIl 29, 2026 JournAlISm of CourAge kolkAtA, lAtE City, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in north East states, ₹20 in Andaman) l www.indianexpress.com dA i ly f r o M : A h M E dA b A d , C h A n d i GA r h , d E l h i , J A i P U r , ko l k AtA , l U C k n o W , M U M b A i , n AG P U r , PAt n A , P U n E , vA d o dA r A Happening today lPrime minister narendra Modi will inaugurate Ganga Expressway, a major highspeed corridor expected to strengthen UP’s economy. leuroPean Parliament will discuss the EU strategy in response to the West Asia crisis. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com The Big PicTure the Great benGal exClusion: of 89 lakh names deleted, 34 lakh had Gone to tribunals Final round today, ec adds 1,468 names to voter list after 139 in Ph-1 l atstakein2ndphase 3.22 crore electors will decide fate of candidates in 142 Assembly seats in Bengal Phase-2 2021 results in Phase-2 seats party tMC MaMata faces acid test in suvendu reMatch aMid sir shadow in BhaBanipur 36.14% 1 14.62% Total seats: 142 deCision Total candidates: 1,448 Kolkata, April 28 JUST BeFORe the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on Wednesday, 1,468 names were added back to the electoral roll. In the case of six, the tribunals said theirnamescannotbeincluded. however, there is no clarity on the overall number of cases the tribunals managed to take up,beforetheBengalpollsconclude Wednesday. With the addition of the 1,468 names, the total number of electors in Bengal for Wednesday’s polling across 142 Assembly seats is 3.22 crore. earlier, the election CommissionofIndiahadsaidthe19 tribunals had received 34 lakh applications, including for exclusion. In the last supplementarylist,aheadofthefirstphase »Continued on PaGe 2 pages 4 & 5 26 ( including 34 SC and 1 St) atri mitra & avantika basu decision 49.24% 18 others W e st b e n Ga l page 10 123 bJP 2026 didi’s fight seats Voteshare Turnout in2021 80.7% SoUrCE: EC Business as usual By EP UNNY Dubai, April 28 The UnITeD Arab emirates saidTuesdayitwasquittingoilproducers’ group OPeC, as an unprecedented energy crisis triggered by the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations. The loss of the UAe, a longstanding OPeC member, could create disarray and weaken the group, which has usually sought to show a united front despiteinternaldisagreements overarangeofissuesfrom geopolitics to production quotas. UAeenergyMinisterSuhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei told Reuters the decision was taken after a careful look at the regionalpower'senergystrategies. Asked whether the UAe consulted with OPeC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, he said the UAe did not raise the issue with any other country. “This is a policy decision, Polling officials collect evms and other material at netaji indoor stadium in kolkata on Tuesday, a day ahead of the second and final phase of voting for the assembly elections in west bengal. PArthA PAUl PM: Women’s quota in legislatures a national In conversation with Ruchir Sharma mission, need your blessings to implement maulshree seth Govt wary of banned online money games sneaking in as e-sports THe world iran hardliners and Moderates clash over u.s. talks: report ace global investor, fund manager and best-selling author ruchir sharma in conversation with anant goenka, executive director, The indian express group, at the express adda in mumbai on Tuesday. AkASh PAtil PRIMe MInISTeR narendra Modi on Tuesday said the implementationofwomen’sreservation in legislatures was a nationalmission,andhitoutatthe Opposition parties for not lettingtheamendmentBillpassin Parliament. Addressing a “Jan Aakrosh Mahila Sammelan” (women’s convention) in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, Modi said, “I have come to seek your blessings, as the MP of KashiandasthePrimeMinister ofthecountry.Iwantyourblessingstoachieveamajornational goal,whichistoimplementreservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.” Referring to the passage of theConstitution(128thAmendment) Bill, 2023, also called the nariShaktiVandanAdhiniyam, providingfor33%reservationfor women in legislatures, the PM said, “A few days ago, due to partiesliketheSamajwadiParty andCongress,thiseffortdidnot seethelightofdayinParliament. But I assure all my sisters once again that I will leave no stone unturnedtoensureyourrightto reservation is implemented.” Framing women as central tohisvisionofa“ViksitBharat”, »Continued on PaGe 2 Its departure a win for Trump who has long accused bloc of inflating oil prices maha el dahan Pm narendra modi at mahila sammelan in varanasi, Tuesday. Pti Lucknow, April 28 UAE to exit OPEC, OPEC+ amid Strait of Hormuz crisis, big blow to Saudi Arabia soumyarendra barik New Delhi, April 28 DeSPITe eFFeCTIVeLy banningonlinerealmoneygamesin India,theMinistryofelectronics and Information Technology (Meity) is stepping up vigil so thatsuchentitiesdon'tfindtheir way back online by getting themselves categorised as an esport — a class of online game thatIndia’sgaminglawallows— with enhanced safeguards. “Meity fears that e-sports is one potential way in which banned money games could seek a re-entry after making some tweaks to their models. Theapplicationsofsuchgames will be scrutinised quite closely,” a senior government officialtoldTheIndianExpress. Last year, the IT Ministry notified the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act,2025,whichbannedonline real money games of all types, shutting the door on popular apps such as Dream11, Mobile PremierLeagueandWinzo.The Act allows e-sports to operate, but places them under greater compliance burden than other types of permissible games. For instance,thelawmandatesregistration for e-sports while easingrequirementsfornon-monetary games. What the ministry will watch out for is the manner in »Continued on PaGe 2 poliTics page 6 Ahmedabad, April 28 extradited froM turkey, dawood aide in ncB custody explained Behind the emirati decision The UAE, which has had frosty ties with OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia, has invested heavily in its domestic energy resources. Its exit frees it from production quota for members of the oil bloc. In the near future, the market should be able to absorb additional UAE oil given the depleted inventories of importers and their focus on building reserves. it has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” said the energy minister. »Continued on PaGe 2 page 14 truMp unhappy with latest proposal By iran to end war BJP sweeps local body polls in Gujarat, Modi hails ‘unbreakable’ bond Parimal a dabhi rajnath at sco Meet: no place for douBle standards on terrorisM E. The BJP registered a thumping victory Tuesday in the Gujarat local body elections, winning all 15 municipal corporations and 33 of 34 district panchayats, while also securing a majority of seats in nagarpalikas and taluka panchayats. Thenumbersaresignificant on several counts, primarily with Assembly elections due next year. These were the first polls held in the state after the SpecialIntensiveRevision(SIR) ofelectoralrolls.Gujarathadrecorded the highest number of deletions,morethan68lakh,in theSIRamongstateswherethe »Continued on PaGe 2 l ProTesTs over alleged harassmenT oF girl by Teacher in J&k’s soPore Town ‘It wasn’t anti-national’: Kin of 6 booked under PSA over school protest in disbelief naveed iqbal whichallowsfordetention withouttrialforaperiodoftwoyears. All are households with limited On The front porch of her means, and the families are unhouse at Panzipora in Kash- sure of the next steps to meet mir’s Sopore, Kulsooma sat their children or find a lawyer. alone, sobbing. her brother, On April 13, protests broke AltafAhmedSheikh,wascalled out in Sopore town after stuto the local police station on dents of a government school April14,andonApril24,hewas alleged harassment of a girl by booked under the stringent an Urdu teacher there. Public Safety Act Sloganeeringand page 1 (PSA),andsenttojail stone pelting inciin the Bhaderwah dents were recorded district of Jammu. despite the police’s Theirs is one of six such near immediate filing of an FIR families in Sopore grappling and booking the teacher. with the aftermath of six young Though the protest is believed menfacingactionunderthelaw, tohavebegunwithintheschool Sopore, April 28 anchor compound, it spread to the main market. The next day, six local men — Umar Akbar hajam, Salman Ahmed Shala, Altaf Ahmed Sheikh, Mubashir Ahmed Gilkar, Muzammil Mushtaq Changa, and Majid Firdous Dar — were called to the police station or picked up from home, according to their families. In a statement issued last Friday, the Sopore police said they were accused of “disturbing public order”. Barring two, the families of those arrested claimed that the accusedwere“bystanders”and were“caughtinthechaosofthe kulsooma’s brother altaf ahmed sheikh is among the six youth; (right) Firdous ahmad dar, whose son majid has been held. ShUAib MASoodi students’protest”.Thoughthey have been described as “miscreants” by the police, each family claimed that the men did not have any prior run-ins with the law. Inspector General Police (KashmirZone),VKBirdi,however,toldTheIndianExpresson Kolkata Monday, “All the processes were on the basis of sufficient evidence of involvement.” At Shalapora, Mohammad Ramzan Shalla, imam at a local mosque, told The Indian Express that his son Salman (23), who works as a salesman at a dry fruit shop near the police station, did participate in the protest, but added: “It was not an anti-national protest. It was about schoolchildren protesting against a teacher’s behaviour.Anyonewouldbeupsetby that.” his daughter studies at the same school. “Salman heard about the protest and went to see what was happening.” Afterwards,Ramzanreceiveda callfromthelocalpolicestation and was told that Salman had suffered a head injury. “I met himatthehospitalandbrought him back, but then he was called to the police station the next day, and now he’s been taken to Jammu.” AtPanzipora,Kulsoomasaid herbrotherAltaf(21)quitschool after the eighth standard to learn carpentry and help out at home. “he was returning from workinBaramulla.Ourfatheris tooweaktoworknow,soAltafis the only earning member.” »Continued on PaGe 2