India in June 2026: the most important developments in politics
India's politics in June 2026 turned on relations with the United States. Around June 10 to 14, India said US strikes on tankers enforcing the blockade on Iran near Oman killed three Indian sailors. It twice summoned a senior US diplomat, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the action was unjustified. Prime Minister Narendra Modi then met President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in France. Before the meeting Modi warned of a trust deficit; afterwards he reported progress on trade, and Trump called him a tough negotiator. US trade representative Jamieson Greer visited New Delhi on June 24, and on June 27 Rubio said he hoped Trump would visit India early next year.
At home, Modi became India's longest-serving elected prime minister on June 10, passing Jawaharlal Nehru's record. The opposition was under strain. K. Annamalai resigned from the BJP on June 2 and announced plans for a new political movement in Tamil Nadu. The DMK said it was no longer part of the INDIA bloc, which met on June 7 and 8 and announced a five-point plan. In West Bengal, 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs sought to merge with another party, and in Maharashtra members of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction crossed over. In Karnataka, Congress replaced Siddaramaiah with DK Shivakumar as chief minister on June 4.
After a leak of medical entrance exam papers, India banned Telegram temporarily on June 16. Between 2 million and 2.28 million candidates retook the NEET-UG exam on June 21 under heavy security, including air force sorties.
Elsewhere, India and Pakistan traded criticism at the UN over the Indus Waters Treaty and Kashmir. India rejected remarks by Nepal's prime minister on the border, holding that it is a bilateral matter. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Indian officials in Delhi on June 23 during a BRICS security meeting, and Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived on June 30 for the annual summit with Modi.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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