Good morning,
In a nation of over a billion people, few parivars (families) rule the roost. Political parties have, time and again, accused each other of nepotism. My colleague Shyamlal Yadav decided to examine the true extent of the problem. An analysis of election affidavits and Election Commission reports, and interviews with legislators, poll experts and government officials, revealed that 149 families in India have more than one member currently placed in state legislatures or both houses of Parliament.
Sample this: In the BJP, whose number of legislators has been steadily increasing for the past three terms, only 18.62 per cent are dynasts. In sharp contrast, Congress has nearly double that share. Notably, though, BJP legislators also account for the largest share of those 149 families.
The trend gets stronger in the case of regional parties — a testament to entry barriers at the state level and the lack of a level playing field. In Bihar, where elections are due next month, more than one-fourth of its current Assembly is made up of dynasts.
Read the full Express Investigation here.
On that note, let’s get to the rest of today’s edition.👇
🚨 Big Story
The Indian cricket team began the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup on a high, defeating both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. A fortnight later, the mood has completely changed. India suffered three consecutive defeats against South Africa, Australia, and England. Cricket gurus have flagged the team’s inability to close out matches despite being in winning positions. Their use of the Decision Review System has been bizarre — and mostly unhelpful. And as they face New Zealand in Navi Mumbai today, the pressure is on!
Despite tempered expectations, today’s match is a must-win fixture for India to reverse their fortunes and secure a berth in the semis.
However, there is one interesting quirk that may ensure India’s place in the semifinals even if New Zealand prevails today. Both teams are tied on the scoreboard, but New Zealand has a lower run rate after two of its games were washed out in Colombo. This means New Zealand has to win against both India and a tough opponent, England, to secure a place in the semifinals.
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⚡Only in Express
The retirement fund body, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), recently eased its withdrawal process, while introducing a 25 per cent minimum balance requirement. The EPFO has said that its latest intervention was necessitated due to the high frequency of withdrawals by members during their work tenure. As such, an analysis of the data by The Indian Express showed that about half the members have less than Rs 20,000 at the time of final settlement.
We explain what the numbers reveal.
📰 From the Front Page
Get ready: The Election Commission on Wednesday met with the Chief Electoral Officers of states and Union Territories to assess the preparedness for the pan-India Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Indian Express has learnt that the exercise will likely be rolled out in phases, beginning in early November in states headed for polls next year.
Attention! The Army Commanders Conference begins in Jaisalmer today. Their agenda will include discussions on measures to enhance integration of the three services, implementation of the Mission Sudarshan Chakra, and a proposal to increase Agniveer retention rate from 25 per cent to 75 per cent.
Findings: Last month, the Congress alleged irregularities in the voter list of Karnataka’s Aland. A special investigation team probing the case has zeroed in on a data centre, where an operator was paid Rs 80 for every fraudulent voter deletion submission. A total of 6,018 such applications were made, working out a total payment of Rs 4.8 lakh.
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📌 Must Read
Understanding thy neighbour: Despite India’s qualms with Pakistan, what makes it attractive to global powers, from China to Russia, and now the US? Kanti Bajpai, a professor of International Relations, writes that there are three reasons why Pakistan can’t be written off: location, disruptive capabilities, and power (military, demographic, Islamic, diasporic, and alliance). Read on.
In search of: ChatGPT creator, OpenAI, has launched its own AI browser: Atlas. Crucially, owning a browser, which is a gateway to everything else — from search and shopping to banking and entertainment — companies can have access to large amounts of user data. They can observe and optimise user intent. Here’s how AI browsers will change how you search.
⏳ And Finally…
Rooting for the ‘bad guy’: The Louvre Museum robbery has sparked an interest in a much-loved genre of cinema: heist films. Besides memes and tweets, lists of must-watch movies appeared on several platforms. Interest in Lupin and George Clooney-starrer Ocean’s Eleven saw a spike on Google Trends. But what is it about heist films that has audiences hooked? Is it the slick hero? Or the larger human fascination with defying the system and getting away with it? I leave you with the latest Fresh Take.
That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
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