The 2026 Kerala Assembly election delivered a major political shift, with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) returning to power after the Left Democratic Front’s prolonged tenure in the state.

Kerala Assembly Election 2026 — Final Seat Tally

• Indian National Congress: 63 seats
• Communist Party of India (Marxist): 26 seats
• Indian Union Muslim League: 22 seats
• Communist Party of India: 8 seats
• Kerala Congress: 7 seats
• Bharatiya Janata Party: 3 seats

Polling for all 140 constituencies was held in a single phase on April 9, 2026.

Major Political Outcome

The Congress-led UDF crossed the majority mark comfortably and is set to form the next government in Kerala. The ruling Left Democratic Front suffered a heavy setback, with the CPI(M)-led alliance losing significant ground across the state.

Key Leaders Who Won

• Pinarayi Vijayan retained his seat despite the Left’s poor overall performance.
• V. D. Satheesan secured victory in his constituency.
• Rajeev Chandrasekhar also registered a notable win for the BJP.

Significance of BJP’s Performance

The BJP winning 3 seats is considered historically significant in Kerala politics, where the party has traditionally struggled to gain legislative representation.

Political Landscape

UDF Alliance

• Indian National Congress
• Indian Union Muslim League
• Kerala Congress factions and allies

LDF Alliance

• Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• Communist Party of India

For the complete constituency-wise winners list and detailed candidate results, users generally refer to the official Election Commission of India results portal and state-wise election dashboards.

Here’s the full winners list:

Also See

West Bengal Assembly Election Results 2026

Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results 2026 

Assam Assembly Election Results 2026

Puducherry Assembly Election Results 2026

The post Kerala Election Results Winners List 2026: Congress Wins 63 Seats as CPI(M) Shrinks to 26 seats. Full Constituency-Wise List appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

V. D. Satheesan took oath as the Chief Minister of Kerala on May 18, 2026, at the Central Stadium, leading the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government in the state.

The oath of office and secrecy was administered by the Governor of Kerala in the presence of senior national and state leaders.

Congress Ministers in the Kerala Cabinet

The Indian National Congress secured 11 berths in the Cabinet:

• Ramesh Chennithala
• Sunny Joseph
• K. Muraleedharan
• A. P. Anil Kumar
• P. C. Vishnunadh
• T. Siddique
• Bindu Krishna
• K. A. Thulasi
• Roji M. John
• M. Liju
• O. J. Janeesh

IUML Ministers

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was allotted five Cabinet positions:

• P. K. Kunhalikutty
• N. Shamsudeen
• K. M. Shaji
• P. K. Basheer
• V. E. Abdul Gafoor

Ministers from Other UDF Allies

• Mons Joseph — Kerala Congress (Joseph)
• Shibu Baby John — Revolutionary Socialist Party
• Anoop Jacob — Kerala Congress (Jacob)
• C. P. John — Communist Marxist Party

National Leaders Present

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by:

• Mallikarjun Kharge
• Rahul Gandhi
• Priyanka Gandhi

The new UDF government marks the return of the Congress-led alliance to power in Kerala after defeating the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in the 2026 Assembly election.

Kerala’s new Council of Ministers

Also Read

Oath ceremony of West Bengal CM Subhendu Adhikar 2026

Oath ceremony of Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay 2026

Oath ceremony of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma 2026

Historic Oath ceremony of Puducherry CM A. Namassivayam 2026

The post V D Satheesan’s Swearing-In as Kerala Chief Minister with 20-Member Cabinet; Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Present appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

N. Rangasamy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Puducherry on Wednesday, beginning a record fifth term in office and reinforcing his status as one of the Union Territory’s most influential political leaders.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at Lok Bhavan, where Lieutenant Governor K. Kailasanathan administered the oath of office and secrecy.

Ministers Sworn In Alongside Rangasamy

Two MLAs took oath as ministers in the NDA government:

• A. Namassivayam — Bharatiya Janata Party
• Malladi Krishna Rao — All India N.R. Congress

Historic Milestone

With this oath-taking:

• N. Rangasamy became the first leader to serve five terms as Chief Minister of Puducherry.
• This is also his second consecutive term leading the NDA alliance government in the Union Territory.

NDA’s Strength in the Assembly

The NDA secured a comfortable majority in the 30-member Assembly:

• All India N.R. Congress (AINRC): 12 seats
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 4 seats
• All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK): 1 seat
• Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK): 1 seat

Cabinet Expansion Expected

Sources within the alliance indicated that the Cabinet would be expanded later, with three more ministers likely to be inducted as part of seat-sharing and alliance arrangements.

Focus Areas of the New Government

The Rangasamy-led administration is expected to prioritise:

• Welfare programmes
• Infrastructure development
• Employment generation
• Better coordination with the Central government

Senior BJP leaders, NDA allies, party workers and elected representatives attended the ceremony amid tight security arrangements around the venue.

Also Read

Oath ceremony of West Bengal CM Subhendu Adhikar 2026

Oath ceremony of Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay 2026

Oath ceremony of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma 2026

Oath ceremony of Kerala CM V D Satheesan’s 2026

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Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in on May 12, 2026, as the Chief Minister of Assam for a second consecutive term, becoming the first non-Congress leader in the state’s history to achieve this milestone.

The oath-taking ceremony was held at the College of Veterinary Science Playground and was administered by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya.

Ministers Sworn In Alongside Himanta Biswa Sarma

Four leaders also took oath as minister-designates:

• Rameswar Teli — BJP
• Ajanta Neog — BJP
• Atul Bora — AGP
• Charan Boro — BPF

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) are allies of the BJP-led NDA in Assam.

Dignitaries Present

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by:

• Narendra Modi
• Amit Shah
• Rajnath Singh
• BJP national president Nitin Nabin
• Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states and Union Territories
• Religious leaders, industrialists, and foreign delegates

Among the international guests was Sergio Gor.

Historic Political Context

The NDA secured a third straight term in Assam after winning 102 of the 126 Assembly seats:

• Bharatiya Janata Party: 82 seats
• Asom Gana Parishad: 10 seats
• Bodoland People’s Front: 10 seats

The BJP first came to power in Assam in 2016 under Sarbananda Sonowal. Leadership later transitioned to Himanta Biswa Sarma in 2021.

Political Messaging

Ahead of the ceremony, Sarma invoked the blessings of:

• Kamakhya Temple
• Srimanta Sankardev

He reiterated the NDA government’s emphasis on “jati, mati, bheti” (community, land, and foundation), highlighting land reclamation and identity politics as key priorities for the new term.

Also Read

Oath ceremony of West Bengal CM Subhendu Adhikar 2026

Oath ceremony of Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay 2026

Oath ceremony of Kerala CM V D Satheesan’s 2026

Historic Oath ceremony of Puducherry CM A. Namassivayam 2026

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Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday took oath as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal, creating history as the first leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to occupy the state’s top post.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the historic Brigade Parade Ground, making Adhikari the first Bengal Chief Minister to take oath at the venue.

Dignitaries Present

The high-security event was attended by:

• Narendra Modi
• Amit Shah
• Rekha Gupta
• Bhajan Lal Sharma
• Mohan Yadav
• Yogi Adityanath
• Other BJP and NDA leaders

The oath of office was administered by Governor R. N. Ravi.

Ministers Sworn In Alongside Suvendu Adhikari

Dilip Ghosh

A veteran BJP organiser and former West Bengal BJP president, Dilip Ghosh played a major role in expanding the BJP’s grassroots network in Bengal after 2014. He previously served as MP from Medinipur and is known for his long association with the RSS.

Agnimitra Paul

Fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul is currently the only woman minister in the BJP-led Bengal Cabinet. She emerged as a prominent BJP face in Bengal after joining the party in 2019 and later became state Mahila Morcha president and BJP Bengal general secretary. She retained the Asansol Dakshin Assembly seat in the latest election.

Ashok Kirtania

Ashok Kirtania represents Bangaon Uttar in North 24 Parganas, a constituency with significant Matua influence. The BJP views him as an important leader among the Matua community and Hindu voters in the region.

Kshudiram Tudu

Kshudiram Tudu represents Ranibandh in the tribal-dominated Jungle Mahal region. His induction reflects the BJP’s strategy to strengthen outreach among tribal communities in West Bengal.

Nisith Pramanik

One of the BJP’s prominent young leaders in North Bengal, Nisith Pramanik previously served as Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and Youth Affairs & Sports. He is considered influential among the Rajbangshi community and youth voters in the Cooch Behar region.

Cabinet Expansion Ahead

Only six ministers, including the Chief Minister, have taken oath so far. With the constitutional limit allowing up to 44 ministers in the West Bengal Cabinet, around 39 more MLAs may be inducted in the coming expansion.

Also Read

Oath ceremony of Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay 2026

Oath ceremony of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma 2026

Oath ceremony of Kerala CM V D Satheesan’s 2026

Historic Oath ceremony of Puducherry CM A. Namassivayam 2026

The post Who took oath with Suvendu Adhikari among Bengal ministers? See complete list appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

The 2026 Puducherry Assembly election resulted in a decisive victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), allowing the alliance to comfortably retain power in the Union Territory.

Puducherry Assembly Election 2026 — Final Seat Tally

• All India N.R. Congress (AINRC): 12 seats
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 4 seats
• All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK): 1 seat
• Lok Janshakti Party (LJP): 1 seat
• NDA Total: 18 seats

The Puducherry Legislative Assembly has 30 elected members, and the majority mark is 16.

Key Highlights

• The NDA comfortably crossed the majority mark and retained control of the Union Territory.
• N. Rangasamy led the AINRC to victory.
• Rangasamy won from both constituencies he contested:
  • Thattanchavady
  • Mangalam
• Polling was held on April 9, 2026.

Election Statistics

• Voter turnout: 89.87%
• Polling stations: 1,099
• Candidates in fray: 294

Political Context

The election saw intense competition among:

• The NDA alliance led by AINRC and BJP
• Opposition parties including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Indian National Congress
• Newly floated regional outfits and smaller parties

The result further strengthened the political position of N. Rangasamy in Puducherry politics.

For complete constituency-wise winners and candidate-wise vote margins, users generally refer to the official Election Commission of India portal and Puducherry election dashboards.

Here’s the full winners list:

Also See

West Bengal Assembly Election Results 2026

Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results 2026 

Assam Assembly Election Results 2026

Kerala Assembly Election Results 2026

The post Puducherry Election Results 2026: Full List of constituency-wise winners appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

The 2026 Assam Assembly election saw a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma strengthening his hold over the state.

Assam Assembly Election 2026 — Final Results

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 82 seats
• NDA allies combined: 102 seats
• Indian National Congress: 19 seats
• Others: Remaining seats

In the 2021 Assembly election, the BJP had won 60 seats, making this a major improvement in its electoral performance.

Key Highlights

• The BJP comfortably crossed the majority mark in the 126-member Assam Assembly.
• The NDA alliance consolidated its support across Upper Assam, Barak Valley, and several tribal regions.
• The Congress suffered another setback, with its tally dropping from 29 seats in 2021 to 19.
• The election reaffirmed Himanta Biswa Sarma as one of the BJP’s strongest regional leaders in the Northeast.

Political Impact

The result is being viewed as a strong endorsement of the BJP government’s governance, welfare schemes, infrastructure expansion, and regional political strategy in Assam. The NDA’s performance also strengthened the BJP’s dominance across the Northeast region.

Major Alliances in the Contest

NDA

• Bharatiya Janata Party
• Asom Gana Parishad
• United People’s Party Liberal

Opposition Bloc

• Indian National Congress
• Regional and Left allies

For the complete constituency-wise winners list and detailed vote-share breakdown, users generally refer to the official Election Commission of India results portal and major election dashboards.

Here’s the full winners list:

Also See

West Bengal Assembly Election Results 2026

Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results 2026 

Kerala Assembly Election Results 2026

Puducherry Assembly Election Results 2026

The post Assam Assembly Election Results 2026 Winners: BJP 82 seats, Congress 19 seats – Check Constituency Wise, Party-Wise Full List appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

The 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election produced a dramatic and historic verdict, with actor-turned-politician Vijay emerging as the biggest political force in the state through his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2026 — Final Tally

• TVK: 108 seats
• DMK-led alliance: 59 seats
• AIADMK: 46 seats
• Others: Remaining seats

The election was conducted in a single phase on April 23, 2026, across 234 constituencies and more than 75,000 polling stations. Tamil Nadu recorded a historic voter turnout of about 85.1%, the highest ever in a state Assembly election.

Key Takeaways

• TVK became the single largest party, but remained short of the majority mark of 118 seats in the 234-member Assembly.
• The ruling M. K. Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) suffered a major setback.
• The reunited All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-BJP alliance improved its performance but remained behind TVK.
• Attention immediately shifted to possible alliance negotiations and government formation.

Major Leaders in the Fray

• Vijay contested from Perambur.
• M. K. Stalin led the DMK campaign.
• Edappadi K. Palaniswami was projected as the CM face of the AIADMK-BJP alliance.

Political Significance

The result marks one of the biggest disruptions in Tamil Nadu politics in decades. Since the late 1960s, the state has largely alternated between the DMK and AIADMK. TVK’s rapid rise under Vijay has effectively created a new three-cornered political landscape in the state.

For the full constituency-wise winners list and seat-by-seat breakdown, users typically check the official Election Commission of India portal or major election dashboards from media organizations.

Here’s the full winners list:

Also See

West Bengal Assembly Election Results 2026

Assam Assembly Election Results 2026

Kerala Assembly Election Results 2026

Puducherry Assembly Election Results 2026

The post Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results 2026 Winners: TVK 108 seats; DMK 59 seats – check constituency wise appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

The 2026 West Bengal Assembly election delivered a historic result, with the Bharatiya Janata Party securing a massive victory and ending the 15-year rule of the All India Trinamool Congress in the state.

Key Results

• BJP won 207 seats out of 293 declared seats.
• TMC was reduced to 80 seats, down sharply from 215 in 2021.
• BJP had won only 77 seats in the previous Assembly election.
• The majority mark in the 294-member Assembly is 148 seats.

Major Upsets

One of the biggest shocks came from Bhabanipur, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost to former ally-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes.

Here’s the full winners list:

Also See

Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results 2026 

Assam Assembly Election Results 2026

Kerala Assembly Election Results 2026

Puducherry Assembly Election Results 2026

The post West Bengal Assembly Election Results 2026 Winners: BJP 207 seats, TMC 80 seats– Check Constituency-Wise, Party-Wise Full List appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up on your knowledge. Here’s your hunk of knowledge on ethanol production for today.

Hunk of Knowledge: Ethanol production

Subject: Economy and Policy

(Relevance: In UPSC Prelims, questions have been asked on the production of biofuels; do check them at the end of the article. As the crude oil crisis looms amidst Iran vs Israel-US War, it is important to comprehensively understand India’s Ethanol push- from production, processing to government support.)

Why in the news?

While speaking at the inauguration of Phase I of the Noida International Airport (NIA)in Jewar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to India’s ethanol push helping the country through the global energy crisis.

“If production of ethanol had not increased, and its blending with petrol, then the country would have had to import an additional 4.5 crore barrels, which is almost 700 crore litres of crude oil, every year…,” he had said.

Key takeaways:

1. Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is a liquid that has several uses. At 95% purity, it is called rectified spirit and is used as the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages. At 99%-plus purity, ethanol is used for blending with petrol.

2. Ethanol is a common type of biofuel, a renewable fuel derived from biomass, from plants or agricultural, animal, domestic, and industrial bio waste. Biofuels are significantly cleaner than conventional fossil fuels, though lifecycle impacts vary based on feedstock and production methods.

When ethanol is produced from these sources, it is called bioethanol (a subset of Ethanol). Bioethanol can be easily generated from sugarcane, beet juice, corn, rice, or other grains. These fuels are known as first-generation biofuels.

Different generations of Biofuels

According to the National Policy on Biofuels, different generations of Biofuels are:

(i) First Generation (1G) produces bio-ethanol from molasses and bio-diesel from non-edible oilseeds.

(ii) Second-generation (2G) ethanol can be produced from municipal solid waste

(iii) Third Generation (3G) fuels like bio-CNG

Ethanol Production from sugarcane

1. Ethanol is produced from molasses, which is a by product of sugar manufacturing. For making sugar, mills crush sugarcane, which typically has a total fermentable sugar (TFS) content of 14%. The TFS component consists of sucrose along with the reducing sugars glucose and fructose. Most of this TFS component gets crystallised into sugar, and the remaining part is called molasses.

2. The molasses go through three stages — A, B, and C, the last one being where the molasses are most uncrystallised and non-recoverable. The ‘C’ molasses roughly constitute 4.5% of the cane, and has a remaining TFS of 40%.

After C-molasses are sent to the distillery, ethanol is extracted from them. Every 100 kg of TFS yields 60 litres of ethanol. Thus, from one tonne of cane, mills can produce 115 kg of sugar (at 11.5% recovery) and 45 kg of molasses (18 kg TFS), which gives 10.8 litres of ethanol.

3. In between the two extreme cases, there are intermediate options as well, where the cane juice does not have to be crystallised right till the final ‘C’ molasses stage. The molasses can, instead, be diverted after the earlier ‘A’ and ‘B’ stages of sugar crystal formation. Mills, then, would produce some sugar, as opposed to fermenting the whole sugarcane juice into ethanol.

If ethanol is manufactured using ‘B’ heavy molasses (7.25% of cane and with TFS of 50%), around 21.75 litres will be produced along with 95 kg of sugar from every 1 tonne of cane.

4. Till 2017-18, mills produced ethanol only from so-called C-heavy molasses, the final dark brown liquid by product of cane processing containing sucrose that cannot be further economically recovered and crystallised into sugar.

5. From the 2018-19 supply year, mills began making ethanol from an earlier ‘B-heavy’ stage molasses (having higher sucrose content available for fermentation) and also directly from whole cane juice or syrup.

6. The result: Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, the total supply of ethanol to oil marketing companies (OMC) shot up from a mere 38 crore to nearly 189 crore litres. The all-India average ethanol blending in petrol, too, rose from 1.6% to over 4.9%.

Ethanol production from other cereal grains

7. From 2018-19, the government also fixed separate ex-distillery prices for ethanol derived from rice, maize, and damaged food grains.

8. In molasses or cane juice, sugar is present in the form of sucrose. In cereal grains, starch is available, which is a complex carbohydrate. Starch from cereal grains is first extracted and broken down into simple sugars before further fermentation, distillation, and dehydration to ethanol with 99.99% alcohol concentration.

9. While the ethanol blending is seen as a step towards reducing India’s crude oil imports, which is significant amidst the Iran vs Israel-US war, leading to disruption of oil imports from the Strait of Hormuz.

Experts have highlighted concerns related to increased water use in sugarcane cultivation, the fiscal costs of subsidies, and concerns over diverting food crops for fuel. According to energy analysts and industry reports, ethanol is vital, but it should be seen as part of a broader energy transition strategy rather than a standalone solution.

Government Initiatives

National Policy on Biofuel, 2018

It provides an indicative target of 20% ethanol blending under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme by 2030. The Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas informed the Rajya Sabha in December 2025 that the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) had achieved the target of 10% Ethanol blending in petrol in June 2022, ahead of the set deadline.

Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana

This scheme was launched by the government in 2019. This scheme provides financial assistance for setting up Advanced Biofuels projects in the country using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock, multimodal transportation of ethanol and increasing ethanol storage capacity, along with other allied infrastructure for handling higher blends of ethanol.

 Global Biofuel Alliance

It was launched in 2023 to facilitate international cooperation and intensify the use of sustainable biofuels, along with facilitating global biofuels trade and technical support for national biofuel programmes.

BEYOND THE HUNK: Other sustainable fuels that are in the news

1.Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Last year, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) became the first company in India to receive the ISCC CORSIA certification for SAF production at its Panipat refinery in Haryana.

AF is a biofuel that is produced from sustainable feedstocks and has chemistry similar to conventional aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel, which is derived from crude oil. It is a ‘drop-in’ fuel, meaning it can be blended with ATF without requiring any change in the existing machinery of aircraft.

2.Advanced Sustainable Fuel (ASF):New rule changes were brought under the Formula 1 race season 2026, which require the internal combustion engine of the F1 race car to use the ‘advanced sustainable fuel’. It is sourced from sustainable feedstocks that are not in competition with food crops.

These feedstocks include municipal waste and non-food biomass; the fuel can also be produced using technologies like carbon capture, harnessing carbon from the air and industrial emissions. The advanced sustainable fuel must be a drop-in fuel, meaning it should be designed to replace fossil fuels without requiring any engine adjustments.

Post Read Question

According to India’s National Policy on Biofuels, which of the following can be used as raw materials for the production of biofuels? (2020)

1. Cassava

2. Damaged wheat grains

3. Groundnut seeds

4. Horse gram

5. Rotten potatoes

6. Sugar beet

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2, 5 and 6 only

(b) 1, 3, 4 and 6 only

(c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Don’t miss | UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week (23–29 March 2026) | UPSC Lifebloods | Hunk of Knowledge

The post Hunk of Knowledge | PM Modi’s Pushes Ethanol at Jewar airport: Why this biofuel is important for UPSC exam appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.