India in May 2026: the most important developments in politics
India in May 2026 began with the result of state elections. On May 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the West Bengal assembly election with a majority, ending 14 years of rule by the Trinamool Congress. Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as chief minister on May 9, the first from the BJP in the state, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah attending. Mamata Banerjee, who lost her own seat in Bhabanipur, accused the BJP and the Election Commission of taking more than 100 seats unfairly; Rahul Gandhi made similar allegations about vote theft. In Tamil Nadu the BJP was reduced to one seat. Actor-politician Vijay's TVK, short of a majority, formed the government with Congress support and won a trust vote on May 13 amid a walkout; Congress returned to a state government there for the first time in 59 years. In Kerala, Congress chose VD Satheesan as chief minister, and in Karnataka Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation on May 28.
Modi toured the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Norway and Italy between May 15 and 20. Abu Dhabi committed 5 billion dollars of investment, India and Norway announced a green strategic partnership, and Modi met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited India from May 23, met Modi, and delivered an invitation from President Donald Trump for Modi to visit the United States; Quad foreign ministers met in Delhi on May 26, and both countries said they hoped to finalise a trade deal soon. A BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in Delhi ended without a joint statement. India rejected an arbitration ruling under the Indus Waters Treaty as null and void, and held talks with China on the Line of Actual Control.
At home, the government cancelled the NEET UG medical entrance exam on May 12 over alleged irregularities, and the CBI arrested several people over a leaked paper. Rahul Gandhi called Modi a compromised prime minister and questioned why the education minister had not been removed. The United States dropped all charges against businessman Gautam Adani on May 18.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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