Good morning, The long-pending elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Asia’s richest civic body, concluded on Thursday. Exit polls have predicted a sweep for the BJP-Shinde Sena alliance in an election that saw a 53% voter turnout. The results will be out later today!
Although the election was mostly peaceful, the State Election Commission faced criticism from voters and opposition parties over reports that some voters could not locate their booths and that the indelible ink could be wiped off. Zeeshan Shaikh reports.
On that note, let’s get into the rest of today’s edition👇
🚨 Big Story
India and the European Union are making steady progressin their trade deal negotiations. As many as 20 out of the 24 chapters have been signed. India and the EU aim to conclude the deal before European leaders arrive in India. The President of the European Council, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations. This will be followed by an India-EU Summit on January 27.
👉 The progress is significant, given that the India-EU FTA had been stuck for the last decade over environment and labour rights issues. Manoj Pant, a visiting professor at Shiv Nadar University, writes about why regional pacts like this would help India mitigate the unpredictability shaped by developments in the US and China.
Meanwhile, in today’s Dis/Agree column, we asked two experts to analyse what’s ahead for the India-US ties, which remained turbulent in 2025.
👉 Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, reasons that India may not be better off in 2026 in terms of the US, but notes that beyond the White House, there is strong support for close ties with India.
👉 Shyam Saran,former foreign secretary, writes that while India-US ties are unlikely to revive anytime soon, the key lies in India’s ability to accelerate its growth and build up its economic, technological, and security capabilities.
“Everyone should self-censor. ‘Say whatever comes to mind’ is overrated. There’s a gap between thought and speech that one must process.”
Stand-up comic Zakir Khan recently joined us at Express Adda for a no-holds-barred chat. He spoke about self-censorship, India’s evolving relationship with Hindi, abusive language in comedy and how he navigates fame and success. He even indulged us with a rapid-fire round and audience questions. Read here.
📰 From the Front Page
Can a Nobel Peace Prize be transferred? Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the prize in 2025 for her “efforts to advance democracy”, presented the medal to US President Donald Trump on Thursday. The gesture came just days after the US launched strikes in Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, ending his decade-long rule. According to Reuters, Trump, who has long coveted a Nobel Peace Prize, intends to keep the medal.
Fly home: The Ministry of External Affairs is making preparations to evacuate Indian nationals who wish to return home from Iran. This comes in the wake of mounting tensions in West Asia and uncertainty over the US moves against the Iranian regime. Iran temporarily closed its airspace to commercial flights on Thursday.
🎧 Tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode for more on the ongoing protests in Iran.
📌 Must Read
At home: When the Indian national anthem rang out at the stadium in Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo, it wasn’t just the Indian players who sang along — parents of American cricketers joined in from the stands. On the field, the players were either Indian or of Indian descent, but wrapped up in Stars and Stripes. The moment pointed to a telling fact: Cricket may have travelled the world, but it remains rooted in South Asia. Of the 240 players in the competition, 60 are from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.
Limits: Elon Musk-owned social media platform, X, has restricted it AI bot Grok from generating images where the subject is undressed. This marked a U-turn from Musk’s earlier statement, which put the onus on the users generating such images rather than the platform. Countries across the world, including India, have objected to the generation of sexualised and objectionable pictures of women on the platform without their consent. Soumyarendra Barik explains the controversy and the backlash.
Speaking of AI, read our latest Fresh Take, where Shaima S writes about ‘befriending’ ChatGPT, only to find that all the AI chatbot does is mirror her feelings back. What happens when a generation learns to think by bouncing ideas off a mirror instead of another mind? Read.
⏳ And Finally…
Get ready to be served delicacies on your Vande Bharat journey. As part of the 52 reforms in 52 weeks announced by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Railways will begin serving local cuisine of the origin-station, starting with Vande Bharat trains. The menu includes a wide variety, from Idiyappam and Chettinad Vegetable Gravy to Kashmiri Roth Cake and Paneer Kolhapuri.
That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta
Business As Usual by EP Unny