The Editorial Page: Why AAP’s breakup matters and can an Opposition-free India be far behind? 8 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE JAiPUr, lAtE City, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 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 , lU 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 PosTal regn. no. JaiPur ciTy/001/2024-26 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 3.22 crore electors will decide fate of candidates in 142 Assembly seats in Bengal Phase-2 l At stake in 2nd phase 2021 results in Phase-2 seats Party 36.14% 14.62% 142 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 their names cannot be included. However, there is no clarity on the overall number of cases the tribunals managed to take up, before the Bengal polls conclude 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 Commission of India had said the 19 tribunals had received 34 lakh applications, including for exclusion. In the last supplementary list, ahead of the first phase »continued on PaGe 2 26 ( including 34 SC and 1 St) atri mitra & avantika basu dawood aide brought back from turkey, 3-yr op targets 100 drug fugitives 18 1 Total seats: 2026 oP Global-Hunt 49.24% others West benGal PAGE 15 123 bJP decision DIDI’S FIGHT Seats Vote share tMC Turnout in 2021 80.7% SoUrCE: EC UAE to exit OPEC, OPEC+ amid Strait of Hormuz crisis, big blow to Saudi Arabia maha el dahan Business as Usual By EP UNNY 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 Dubai, April 28 THE UNITED Arab Emirates said Tuesday it was quitting oilproducers’ 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 despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from »continued on PaGe 2 E. EXPLAINED Behind the 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 the bloc’s members. The market should be able to absorb additional UAE oil given the depleted inventories of importers and their focus on building reserves. mohammad salim dola, 59, was taken into custody by ncB mahender singh manral & mohamed thaver New Delhi, Mumbai, April 28 A FEW months ago, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) submitted a three-year roadmap to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for Operation Global-Hunt — a mission launched to dismantle 100 drug networks run by India's fugitives abroad, including in Dubai, Canada and Europe. On Tuesday, the NCB secured the return of Mohammad Salim Dola, 59, an alleged international drug trafficker and a close associate of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim, from Turkey — the first target under Operation Global-Hunt. Dola, who was detained in Turkey on Saturday, landed at »continued on PaGe 2 In conversation with Ruchir Sharma ace global investor, fund manager and best-selling author ruchir sharma with anant goenka, executive director, The indian express group, at the express adda in mumbai, Tuesday. AkASh PAtil BJP sweeps local body Govt wary of banned online money games polls in Gujarat, Modi hails ‘unbreakable’ bond sneaking in as e-sports Parimal a dabhi Ahmedabad, April 28 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. The numbers are significant on several counts, primarily with Assembly elections due next year. These were the first polls held in the state after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Gujarat had recorded the highest number of deletions, more than 68 lakh, in the SIR among states where the »continued on PaGe 2 soumyarendra barik New Delhi, April 28 DESPITE EFFECTIVELY banning online real money games in India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is stepping up vigil so that such entities don't find their way back online by getting themselves categorised as an esport — a class of online game Are you prepared for Life after Paychecks? Mutual funds may help you build a long-term, disciplined retirement corpus. that India’s gaming law allows — 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. The applications of such games will be scrutinised quite closely,” a senior government official told The Indian Express. »continued on PaGe 2 Why Plan Today? Why Mutual Funds? l ProTesTs oVer alleged harassmenT of girl By Teacher in J&k’s soPore ToWn ‘It wasn’t anti-national’: Kin of six booked under PSA over school protest in disbelief naveed iqbal Sopore, April 28 ON THE front porch of her house at Panzipora in Kashmir’s Sopore, Kulsooma sat alone, sobbing. Her brother, Altaf Ahmed Sheikh, was called to the local police station on April 14, and on April 24, he was booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), and sent to jail in the Bhaderwah district of Jammu. Theirs is one of six such kulsooma’s brother altaf ahmed sheikh is among the six youth; (right) firdous ahmad dar, whose son majid has been held. ShUAib MASoodi families in Sopore grappling with the aftermath of six young men facing action under the law, which allows for detention without trial for a period of two years. All are households with limited means, and the families are unsure of the next steps to meet their children or find a lawyer. On April 13, protests broke out in Sopore town after students of a government school alleged harassment of a girl by an Urdu teacher there. Your future self will thank you. Mutual Fund investors need to complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, which can be done by submitting completed KYC Form along with the required documents at any AMC’s branch Office or official Points of Acceptance. Please refer https://www.licmf.com/kyc-redressal to know about KYC documentary requirement, procedure for change of address, phone number, bank details etc. The investors are cautioned to invest only with SEBI registered Mutual Funds, the details of which can be verified on SEBI’s website under ‘Intermediaries/Market Infrastructure Institutions’ https://www.sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html.) For any complaints and grievance redressal, investors can contact the Investor Relations Officer of the respective AMC and if not satisfied with the resolution given by the AMC, he/she can approach SEBI by registering the complaint on SEBI SCORES Portal (https://scores.sebi.gov.in/) and/or escalate the complaint through Online Dispute Resolution Portal (https://smartodr.in/login). MUTUAL FUND INVESTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO MARKET RISKS, READ ALL SCHEME RELATED DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY. »continued on PaGe 2 Jaipur