India: Opposition Leader detained by police in protests against suspected voting fraud - sh.itjust.works

Thirty members of the Indian parliament, including Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, were detained by police [https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rahul-gandhi-among-opposition-leaders-detained-during-protest-against-india-2025-08-11/] following a protest against suspected voter fraud in recent state elections. Rahul Gandhi’s Indian National Congress party had found fake and duplicate voters [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/opposition-india-congress-protest-march-eci-august-11-2025/article69918859.ece] in the electoral rolls, and accused the election commission of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission rejected his claims, following which digital rolls were briefly unavailable [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/day-after-rahul-gandhis-expose-access-to-voter-rolls-hits-a-snag/article69910319.ece] from the EC website. The protest also focused on a ‘special revision’ of voter rolls in the state of Bihar, where elections are scheduled later this year. The requirements for inclusion were criticised [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bihar/why-are-bihars-electoral-rolls-being-revised-explained/article69779885.ece] as being unreasonably complicated, and likely to disproportionately affect the poor, illiterate, and migrant labourers.

India: In key case on federalism, Supreme Court rules that state Governors must sign bills if presented to them a second time - sh.itjust.works

In a landmark case on the separation of powers between India’s Union (Federal) and State governments, the Supreme Court ruled that state Governors - who are appointed by the Union Government - must assent to a bill if it is placed before them a second time by the State Legislature. The SC also ruled that the ten bills that had been pending with Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for months could be deemed to have received his assent [https://www.thehindu.com/article69426799.ece]. The Governor’s assent was historically seen as a mere formality in the passage of a bill. But over the last few years, state governments not led by the BJP - which leads India’s Union Government - have complained that Governors reject or delay assent for bills passed by them. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, whose government brought this case to the Supreme Court, hailed the verdict [https://www.thehindu.com/article69426376.ece] as a victory for federalism and all state governments.

Sri Lanka parliamentary elections: National People's Power on track to two-thirds majority, also wins district in Tamil majority north - sh.itjust.works

The National People’s Power alliance of Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won a majority of seats in the Sri Lankan Parliament, and is on course to a two-thirds majority with about 62% of the vote (up from 4% in 2020). Led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People’s Liberation Front), they campaigned on a platform of punishing corruption, renegotiating austerity policies imposed by the IMF, and uniting the country’s various ethnic groups. They have also become the first Sinhala-majority party to win a district (Jaffna) in the Tamil-majority north, also making gains in the Muslim-majority east and Malaiyaha-dominated centre. The traditional poles of Sri Lankan politics - the centre-left, Sinhala nationalist SLFP / SJB and the centre-right, socially liberal UNP / NDF, as well as Tamil nationalist parties that often supported the UNP, lost seats.

India: mixed results in state elections - sh.itjust.works

Elections to the territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the state of Haryana gave mixed results for political parties. A coalition led by the J&K National Conference won 49 (JKNC 42, Congress 6, Communist 1) of 90 elected seats in the territory. This puts JKNC leader Omar Abdullah in a comfortable position to form the next government, even with the addition of five members nominated by the federal government. The BJP, which leads India’s union government and controversially removed J&K’s special status, won 29 seats. In Haryana, the BJP overcame anti-incumbancy and farmer protests to win 48 out of a total 90 seats, thanks to a strong local campaign and a popular leader in Nayab Singh Saini [https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/haryana-assembly-poll-results-anti-jat-camoaign-ticket-9610471].

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Your belief makes it real - sh.itjust.works

I’ll just post this here and get some popcorn.