DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ‘Won’t interfere’: SC junks ASSEMBLY POLLS IN 4 OF 12 NEXT YEAR Centre’s plea against HC’s MNREGA in Bengal order EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 27 EXPRESS NETWORK CJI GAVAI NAMES JUSTICE SURYA KANT HIS SUCCESSOR, P 8 THESUPREMECourtonMonday dismissed the Centre’s appeal challenging the Calcutta High Court order asking it to implement the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the state from August 1, 2025. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said, “We are not convinced that the impugnedorderrequiresanyinterference.TheSLP(specialleave petition) is dismissed.” The MGNREGA scheme has been kept in abeyance in West Bengalformorethanthreeyears over allegations of irregularities ‘Jobs, jobs and jobs… Bihar needs this… PK just a media creation’ P5 SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, OCTOBER 27 “JOBS,JOBSandjobs.”Thatishow RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav describes his priorities, in an interviewwithTheIndianExpressdays after the Mahagathbandhan announced him as its Chief Ministerface. DECISION The announce2025 ment was an BIHAR acknowledgment of how crucial the 35-year-old is to the Mahagathbandhan’s chances,atatimewhenhisfather andRJDchief LaluPrasadisailing andthereishardlyanyotherpan- `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 INSIDE REBUKE TO CENTRE’S ARROGANCE AND INJUSTICE, SAYS TMC PAGE 4 inthedisbursementof measures under the centrally sponsored scheme. Hearing a petition, which raised the issue of non-payment of wages under the 100-day rural job guarantee scheme in the state, the Calcutta High Court on June 18, 2025 directed that the scheme be implemented prospectively from August 1, 2025, subject to riders. INTERVIEW TEJASHWI YADAV RJD LEADER Bihar face in the alliance. Tejashwi’s stress on employment, in turn, is an acknowledgment by him of the need to put a distance between the RJD under CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Assam excluded for now; EC asks voters to submit forms by Dec 4 Prashant Kishor enrolled as voter in two states — Bengal and Bihar ATRI MITRA, RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & SANTOSH SINGH PRASHANT KISHOR, poll strategist-turned-politicianwhoseJan Suraaj Party is contesting the Bihar Assembly polls, has his name enrolled in the voter lists of two states — West Bengal and Bihar. InBengal,hisaddressislisted as 121 Kalighat Road, which houses the Trinamool Congress office in Bhabanipur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Assembly constituency. Kishor had worked with the TMC as a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 9 STATES, 3 UNION TERRITORIES West Bengal Gujarat Tamil Nadu Kerala Puducherry Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan 51 crore MP VOTERS TO BE COVERED Goa Chhattisgarh Lakshadweep Andaman and Nicobar West Bengal, TN, Kerala and Puducherry Assembly polls due in 2026; UP, Gujarat, Goa in 2027; Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh in 2028; Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep do not have Assemblies CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 KOLKATA, PATNA, OCTOBER 27 THE EXPRESS 12 states & UTs, 51 cr voters: After Bihar, SIR next round from Nov 4 CEC Gyanesh Kumar with ECs Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. Anil Sharma DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 27 THEELECTIONCommission(EC) on Monday announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories, where all of the registered 51 crore electors would have to submit enumerationformsbyDecember4toremain on the draft roll. All those who cannot be traced back to the last intensive revision of rolls in 2002-2005 wouldberequiredtosubmitdocumentstoestablishtheireligibility to remain on the final list. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BIHAR EFFECT IN SECOND PHASE, P 6 DECEMBER 9 Poll panel to publish draft electoral list FEB 7, 2026 Final electoral rolls to be published Bengal, Tamil Nadu push back: DMK calls all-party meet, TMC hits out at EC MANOJ CG NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 27 HOURS AFTER the Election Commission announced that it will conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories, including the Opposition-ruled Kerala, Tamil NaduandWestBengalwhichare headed for polls next year, the first pushback came from the DMK-governed Tamil Nadu. WEST BENGAL MAJOR RESHUFFLE: 14 DMs, OVER 450 OFFICIALS SHIFTED PAGE 3 Calling the exercise a “conspiracy” to snatch the voting rights of the people of the state, the M K Stalin government decided to convene an all-party CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MEETS RUBIO IN KUALA LUMPUR Energy trade principles are applied selectively: Jaishankar swipe at US SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 27 HOURS AFTER he met US Secretaryof StateMarcoRubioin KualaLumpurMonday,External AffairsMinisterSJaishankartook aswipeattheTrumpadministration, saying energy trade is becoming “increasingly constricted”, “principles are applied selectivelyandwhatispreached is not necessarily practised”. His remarks at the East Asia SummitstemfromtheUSimposition of a 25 per cent tariff penalty on India over its purchase of Russian oil in addition tothe25percenttariff ongoods. The US has not imposed penalty tariffs on Europe and China whichhavealsobeenbuyingenergy from Russia. EAM S Jaishankar with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Kuala Lumpur. PTI “Energy trade is increasingly constricted, with resulting market distortions. Principles are CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trust an expert who knows when to switch the tune Flexi Cap Fund^ for agility Scan to know more or contact your MFD/RIA Benefits of investing in Flexi Cap Fund 1 Flexibility to adjust Market Cap allocation 2 Managed by experts with experience across market cycles 3 Flexible approach helps mitigate risk over the long term ^An open ended dynamic equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap & small cap stocks. SIP for life An Investor Education and Awareness Initiative | SIP - Systematic Investment Plan Visit https://www.hdfcfund.com/information/key-know-how to know more about the process to complete a one-time Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to invest in Mutual Funds. 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