oppn parties "Last Chance" Yediyurappa On Slippery Ground

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Tiranga Rally Is Excellent. Breaking The Law Was Not

October 17, 2026

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
"Last Chance" Yediyurappa On Slippery Ground

By Sunil Garodia

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

B S Yediyurappa (formerly Yeddyurappa) was finally sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka on Friday after a two-day wait and long periods of consultations with palmists, astrologers, tarot card readers and the like with non-stop havans thrown in for good measure. In the end, Amit Shah relented despite having doubts about the numbers when BSY pleaded with him to give the green signal as it was his "last chance" to occupy the chair.

But BSY must realize that occupying the chair for the last time and having to leave it in disgrace (if the government falls, now or later before completing the full term) will take a lot of shine out of his career. Obviously, his astrologers must have given him 'sage' advice and maybe the rebel MLAs have also chipped in with their assurance of unqualified support for the grand old man of Karnataka politics. For, otherwise, even the state BJP leaders are wary, with a few privately hoping that the rebels do not change their minds.

In politics, like in life, perceptions matter. If the BJP had dillydallied till the Speaker took a decision on the resignations of the rebels or waited for the results of the bypolls, an impression would have been created that the party was not sure of the rebels' support. That would have allowed Siddaramaiah and DK Sivakumar to work on them and perhaps make them change their minds. This was one risk the BJP could not take.

But having formed the government, the BJP must now take the rebels in confidence and assure them that they will get their pound of flesh (for the BJP cannot fool anyone by saying the resignations were not engineered by it), whatever the Speakers decision. It should tell them that if they are disqualified, bypolls will be held at the earliest and they will be accommodated after that, if they win. But how BSY will manage to induct the rebels as well the aspirants from his own party is something that will require longer periods of consultation with both Amit Shah and his own palmists and astrologers.

For, as per the 91st amendment of the Constitution, BSY can induct only 34 ministers (15 percent of the total strength of the 224-member house). At last count, there were more than 70 aspirants, including the rebels and the BJP members. BSY will find it extremely tough to keep the party flock together and keep the rebels in good humour at the same time. But as said earlier, maybe his astrologers have given him some secret formula that will allow him to last the full term. If not, Karnataka will witness another political turmoil in the very near future.

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