The world order may have been upended, battered by another war. But it is hard to tell this looking at the list of India’s most powerful. For the 12th year, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah take the top two slots in The RMA News list, with nine of the top 10 the same as in 2025.

That’s a testament to how power equations remain largely unchanged even ahead of another round of Assembly elections. The list also tells the story of the Opposition’s failure to check the BJP, even as the latter pushes into new territory. Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee are the only two non-NDA leaders who make the top 20. If the Congress leader’s efforts mean he has just about kept his No. 9 slot, the Trinamool Congress chief continues to stay one step ahead of the indefatigable BJP.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been a collateral — and not unwilling — beneficiary of this high-stakes political fight, vaulting to No. 20. In 2024, his counterpart was at a much more modest No. 63. The other new entrants in the list, who rank as close, are here by virtue of the posts they now occupy — Chief Justice Surya Kant (No. 17), and BJP chief Nitin Nabin (No. 21).

US President Donald Trump’s volatility (to put it mildly) means Commerce, Finance and External Affairs Ministries have to be constantly on their toes and, hence, Piyush Goyal (No. 5 from No. 12) joins Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar in the top 10. Not surprisingly, NSA Ajit Doval, the government’s eyes and ears on all things security, climbs too, to No. 29.

With six years plus and counting as Principal Secretary to the PM, PK Mishra continues to be one of Modi’s most trusted (the PM rushed him to Ahmedabad after the Air India plane crash in June 2025) aides, and surges by 46 spots to No. 32. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi sees the same rise, to No. 35, as she takes on a more hands-on role in the party, with Assam to be her litmus test after UP.

One person watching the Congress performance closely would be AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who is at No. 55 now, up by 34, as he climbs into the space vacated by the Opposition on minority issues.

In a BJP where power flows from the top, only a rare party CM such as Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Fadnavis and Himanta Biswa Sarma figures at the top; Opposition leaders fill more rungs on this count. But the CM with the biggest fall is Nitish Kumar; down 63 ranks to No. 84, after a farewell to Bihar. Nitish called it his own decision. However, surely the Hero No. 1 of Bihar, who had a glorious poll victory just months earlier, would have wished for a better ending.

Talking about heroes and endings, the two new entrants from Bollywood in the list are Aditya Dhar and Arijit Singh — Dhar for announcing his arrival as a dhurandhar of “patriotism” packaged slickly; Arijit for “exiting” while the music still sang.

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The post Mamata Banerjee Demands Proper Probe Into Cause Of Odisha Train Accident appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

The Bengal CM expressed her sorrow over the sad tragedy where three trains derailed one on top of the other in a horrifying sequence, killing at least 233 people and wounding more than 900 in Odisha’s Balasore district. The Bengal CM kept an eye on the situation from her Kalighat residence for nearly the entire night. She is really concerned and has reached Balasore today to assess the situation. In this context, she has also spoken with Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha. The team that she sent to Balasore last night was in contact with her. The Bengal CM has pledged to offer the Odisha government every kind of help with the rescue efforts and medical care for the injured.

Delegation Of Mamata Government

Late on Friday night, a delegation led by West Bengal Minister Manas Bhuniya and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen arrived at the scene of the train disaster. Two emergency phone numbers, 033-22143526 and 22535185, have been activated by the West Bengal government as of Friday night.

PM Modi To Visit Accident Site

Following the devastating rail tragedy that claimed over 300 lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Odisha today, according to government sources. He will proceed to the accident scene in Balasore before going to the hospital in Cuttack, according to what they said. In order to examine the situation in relation to the rail tragedy, PM Modi has also called a meeting. The South Eastern Circle commissioner of railway safety is leading a thorough inquiry into the train collision that occurred in Odisha at the same time. Such accidents are examined and scrutinized by the commissioner of railway safety, who works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Cause Of Accident

The “Kavach” anti-train collision system was not installed on the route where the terrible accident took place, according to the national railway authority. The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, and a cargo train were all involved in the catastrophe, which claimed approximately 300 lives and injured over 1000 others. Although the precise reason for the disaster is yet unknown, sources have speculated that a signaling malfunction may have occurred.

Preventive Measures

The installation of “Kavach,” a preventive system created to prevent train crashes, is now being carried out by the railway authorities throughout the network. When a train operator disregards a signal (sometimes referred to as “Signal Passed at Danger” or “SPAD”), which is a major factor in train accidents, Kavach activates as an alert mechanism. If it detects another train on the same track within a certain distance, the system has the potential to immediately alert the train operator, take over control of the brakes, and automatically stop the train.

Senior officers from the Railway Board, zonal railways, and divisions were directed to conduct a “thorough review of the working practices” while visiting various sections, crew lounges, maintenance facilities, work sites, etc. to ensure that the safe operational and maintenance procedures recommended to prevent accidents or unusual incidents were being followed.

Source: Bureau

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