India in January 2026: the most important developments in politics
India's politics in January 2026 were dominated by local elections in Maharashtra. Results announced on January 16 gave the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance control of Mumbai's city government, ending the Shiv Sena's 30-year hold on India's richest municipal corporation and the Thackeray family's long grip on it. The BJP won about 45% of the vote in Mumbai, became the largest party on the council, and also won in Pune. The party holds nearly half of all corporator seats in the state. The Uddhav Thackeray faction said it was six seats short of the mayor's post, and Mumbai was set to have a woman mayor for a second consecutive term after a lottery that drew controversy.
Within the BJP, Nitin Nabin was appointed national president on January 20, the youngest person to hold the post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called himself a "party worker" and Nabin his "boss", while the Congress party criticized the fact that no election was held. In Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash, and a three-day state mourning was declared; Sunetra Pawar was set to become the state's first woman Deputy Chief Minister. The Supreme Court stayed University Grants Commission rules on caste discrimination.
Foreign relations covered several directions. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited on January 12, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited on January 19 and signed a $3 billion gas deal, and EU leaders were chief guests at Republic Day. With the United States, President Donald Trump said Modi was "not that happy with me" and repeated claims of having ended the India-Pakistan conflict, while new US Ambassador Sergio Gor took up his post. A Chinese map asserting a claim to the Shaksgam Valley drew a protest from New Delhi and a rejection from India's army chief, and the BJP met a delegation of China's Communist Party. India withdrew the families of its diplomats from Bangladesh, advised citizens against travel to Iran, and sought consular access to 16 seafarers detained by Iran.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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