National sentiment is swinging between jubilation and anger, with grief also pervading the atmosphere. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is upset. She is on a collision course with the Election Commission, calling it a “BJP agent” and saying, “They talk as if they are zamindars and we are their servants.”
After the meeting, Banerjee, who was leading a delegation of MPs from her party, described the Election Commission as “liars and arrogant.” Targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, she said that when she went to his office over the SIR issue, he “insulted, disrespected, and slighted” her. “I have never seen such a Chief Election Commissioner. He is very arrogant. He behaved very badly with us,” she said.
On the other hand, the Commission alleged that TMC legislators used “insulting and threatening language” against the Chief Election Commissioner. According to sources, “They misbehaved, banged the table, and walked out.” Given Banerjee’s quick temper and combative style, the allegation appears plausible.
Beyond West Bengal, a different kind of politics is unfolding in Maharashtra — the politics of grief. Ironically, that same politics seems to be pushing the tragedy and mourning into the background. On January 28, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash. The incident was sudden and shocking. Early images of his wife Sunetra, with Ajit’s cousin Supriya Sule holding her hand, were broadcast on television screens. After Ajit’s death, Sule stood firmly beside Sunetra, offering the emotional support any widow would need in such a tragedy. It goes without saying that grief united a family that had been divided during Ajit’s lifetime. This was not surprising, as Sule had always placed family above politics. Even during the crisis when Ajit took political steps against his uncle Sharad Pawar, she appeared composed and dignified. Her clear stance was: he is my brother and always will be. She never publicly made any comment belittling her cousin.
Undoubtedly, some of it was performative politics, but Supriya never crossed the line of decorum — not even when Ajit fielded his wife Sunetra against her in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But that is now in the past. Turning to the present, within hours of her husband’s funeral, Sunetra assumed his political responsibilities. She was sworn in as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister — the same post her late husband held until his sudden death. Beyond the unexpected nature of her selection, certain aspects stood out: the timing, the haste of the swearing-in, and the secrecy surrounding the decision.
In fact, Sharad Pawar himself publicly stated that he was neither consulted nor informed about the decision to appoint Sunetra. This situation may be seen as favorable to the BJP, as during Ajit’s lifetime talks were progressing about a merger between the two factions of the NCP. From this perspective, his untimely death is not only a personal blow to Sharad Pawar but a political one — perhaps even more political than personal. During his lifetime, Ajit Pawar weakened the NCP and challenged the supremacy of his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar. His resentment stemmed from the perception that the senior Pawar was promoting his daughter as his political successor.
After his death, the family may have appeared united, but cracks emerged with Sunetra’s swearing-in, as Sharad Pawar’s faction was neither consulted nor taken into confidence. It is therefore unsurprising that neither Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya, nor any member of their faction attended the swearing-in ceremony. There is no doubt that Sunetra was an unexpected choice, but critics are also questioning the prudence of the decision. First, she is considered politically inexperienced; her political debut was in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where she lost to Supriya Sule. She later entered Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member, but that seat is likely to be vacated as she contests the Assembly elections. Her appointment has further complicated the political situation, as under the changed circumstances merger talks now seem distant — clearly benefiting the BJP.
Beyond state politics, different narratives were written and rewritten at the national level, with the presentation of the Union Budget, the India–European Union agreement, and the India–United States trade agreement being prominent.
When Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget, she created a kind of history by presenting her ninth consecutive budget. This is just one short of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record of ten budgets — though his were presented over different tenures, six between 1959 and 1964 as Finance Minister and four between 1967 and 1969. Congress leader P. Chidambaram has also presented nine budgets, though not consecutively.
As she read the budget, treasury benches thumped desks in approval, perhaps inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who publicly described the budget as India’s “Reform Express” and a “highway of limitless opportunities.”
The opposition, however, saw it differently, describing it as much ado about nothing. In the words of Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, the budget was “colorless and odorless.”
However, the budget is only part of the story. The BJP has other achievements to showcase — two trade agreements described as the “mother and father of all deals,” respectively with the European Union and the United States.
When both sides signed the India–European Union Free Trade Agreement, it was described as the “mother of all deals.” It was not just about the scale of the agreement, but also about the opportunity to reduce trade dependence on the United States — signaling a potential shift in global trade alignments. It also reflected the EU’s flexibility and transactional approach, seen as different from the United States’ perceived “take it or leave it” stance.
On the other hand, the U.S. did not delay. Within days of the India–EU agreement, the two countries signed a trade pact under which tariffs on Indian exports were reduced from a punitive 50 percent to 18 percent — among the lowest compared to competing countries. As expected, U.S. President Donald Trump hurried to announce the agreement on social media before India did. This time, the deal was described by Rajya Sabha-nominated member Harsh Vardhan Shringla as the “father of all agreements.” While the stock market had declined after the Union Budget, it not only recovered after the India–U.S. deal but reportedly had its “best day in eight months.”
Importantly, these agreements are not merely about fine print or who gained more and who gained less; their real significance lies in perception and timing. The U.S. deal following immediately after the India–EU agreement provided the BJP an opportunity to signal that Trump had to bend.
Beyond the facts, the image of Prime Minister Modi operating from a position of strength and his “strategic foresight” in partnerships beyond the United States is something the BJP and the government are likely to emphasize for political gain.
Amid the noise of trade agreements, tariffs, taxes, and financial debates — and the political developments in Maharashtra — the situation currently appears favorable to the BJP. Thus, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the BJP is riding high. The success of two major trade agreements and favorable developments in Maharashtra amount to nothing short of an unexpected windfall.
Taken together, these factors suggest that in the near future, the BJP’s political journey may be relatively smooth.
