The Hindu Morning Digest: May 9, 2026

Suvendu Adhikari to become the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal

Newly elected MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal unanimously elected Suvendu Adhikari as leader of their legislature party on Friday (May 8, 2026). Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who presided over the meeting, said all proposals were received in favour of Mr. Adhikari. Accompanied by several leaders of the BJP’s State unit, including Dilip Ghosh, Locket Chatterjee, and Tapas Roy, the Chief Minister-designate reached Lok Bhavan and met Governor R.N. Ravi to stake claim to form the government. The BJP had won 207 seats in the 294-member Legislative Assembly while the Trinamool Congress was reduced to 80 seats.

Plea in Supreme Court says Governor is ‘duty-bound’ to invite TVK to form government in Tamil Nadu

A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday (May 8, 2026), submitting that the Tamil Nadu Governor is duty-bound to invite Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party president C. Joseph Vijay, as the leader of the single largest party, was to form the government in the State and later prove the majority on the floor of the House. The petition filed by Ezhilarasi P., who said she is a TVK party member based in Chennai, cited media reports that Governor Rajendra Arlekar may invite post-poll coalition parties in Tamil Nadu to form the government.

AMMK chief Dhinakaran slams TVK for submitting ‘forged’ letter to Governor claiming his party’s backing

In a late night development on Friday (May 8, 2026), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran accused the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of submitting to the Governor, a photocopy of a “forged letter”, claiming it has the support of his party’s lone MLA-elect from Mannargudi constituency S. Kamaraj. “The TVK, which claims to be a ‘pure force’ has indulged in forgery in the hope that later they could indulge in horse trading and buy our lone MLA, as it would not attract anti-defection law. They submitted a photocopy of ‘a WhatsApp letter’ to the Governor. When he asked for the original, they left saying it will be brought,” Mr. Dhinakaran told journalists outside the Lok Bhavan, accompanied by Mr. Kamaraj.

Census enumerators ID can be verified through QR code

Census enumerators have been given identity cards with QR codes to enable residents to verify authenticity, said Lalit Jain, Director of Census Operations (DCO), Haryana, amid resistance from several high-end gated societies to grant access to enumerators. In an interview with The Hindu on Friday (May 8, 2026), Mr. Jain said, “We understand that there may be some apprehension in their [residents] minds that maybe people [enumerators] are not genuine. Now, we have introduced the scan code enabled identity cards. Any person who has any doubt about the authenticity of our enumerator can scan the code on the ID card for verification.”

Excise policy case: Delhi High Court to hear CBI plea on May 11

The Delhi High Court on Friday deferred hearing on the CBI’s petition challenging the trial court order discharging accused in the excise policy case to May 11. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said she was awaiting consent from senior lawyers to represent AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak, who have chosen neither to appear personally nor appoint counsel to contest the CBI’s plea. “There are three persons who are not represented. I am awaiting the consent of some persons who will be representing them… I will appoint on Monday… Arguments will begin on Tuesday,“ said Justice Sharma.

SC takes cognisance of resolution about HC judge sending advocate to custody

The Supreme Court on Friday (May 8, 2026) took cognisance of a representation made by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) about a video footage showing an Andhra Pradesh High Court judge sending a young advocate to a day’s judicial custody for a procedural lapse. The court’s official website showed the case tentatively listed for hearing on May 15. The SCBA had urged Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, in a resolution passed on May 6, to look into the incident while expressing shock at the judge’s reported conduct.

TCS case: Nida Khan sent to police custody till May 11; AIMIM corporator booked for harbouring her

Nida Khan, who has been accused in a case of alleged sexual exploitation and forcible conversion at the Tata Consultancy Services office in Nashik, was remanded to police custody till May 11 by a Nashik court on Friday (May 8, 2026). Ms. Khan was earlier arrested by the Nashik police in a joint operation with the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Police. The police have also booked an AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) corporator from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on the charges of allegedly harbouring Ms. Khan while she absconded from the law.

Engine failure delays Nagapattinam-Kankesanthurai ferry by over four hours

Engine failure and rough sea conditions delayed the arrival of the passenger ferry service from Kankesanthurai to Nagapattinam by more than four hours on Friday (May8, 2026) night, triggering anxious moments for relatives waiting at the Nagapattinam port. The ferry, which departed Kankesanthurai at 2.30 p.m., finally reached Nagapattinam port around 10.45 p.m., taking more than eight hours to complete a journey that usually lasts about four hours.

U.S. fire on Iran tankers sparks reprisals as deal hangs in balance

A U.S. fighter jet disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers to enforce a port blockade on Friday, prompting retaliatory attacks and rattling a shaky truce as Tehran weighed Washington’s latest proposal to end the West Asia war. Iranian officials accused the United States of violating the ceasefire with the tanker strikes and hampering diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Trump says Russia, Ukraine agree to his request for three-day ceasefire, prisoner swap

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday (May 8, 2026) that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners, adding that such a halt to hostilities could be the “beginning of the end” of the long war between them. Mr. Trump announced on social media that the ceasefire would run Saturday (May 9, 2026) through Monday (May 11, 2026). Saturday (May 9, 2026) is Victory Day in Russia, a holiday that commemorates victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

U.S. imposes sanctions on 10 individuals, companies for aiding Iran’s weapons sector

The U.S. ​Treasury on Friday (May 8, 2026) announced sanctions against ‌10 individuals and companies, including several ​in China and ⁠Hong Kong, for aiding efforts by Iran’s military to secure weapons and raw ‌materials used to build Tehran’s Shahed drones. The Treasury move comes ⁠days before U.S. President Donald Trump ⁠plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and ​as efforts ‌to end the war with Iran have stalled.

U.K. PM Starmer says he won’t step down after Labour’s losses

Friday was not a good day for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party, as results for 136 councils to elect 5,000 councillors in England and Assembly elections in Wales and Scotland started coming in. A defiant Mr. Starmer pushed back against calls from within his party, for him to step down. “I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos, “ Mr. Starmer said in London on Friday (May 8, 2026) morning, as he acknowledged the results were “really tough”.

6 killed, 13 injured as mortar shell hits civilian area in northwest Pakistan

At least six people were killed and 13 others injured when a mortar shell exploded in a civilian area in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said. The incident took place in the Durrani Banda area of Hangu district when police were engaged in an operation against the terrorists who fired mortar shells that landed in the civilian area on Thursday (May 7), a police official said.

India scripts history, trounces Lebanon to make U17 Asian Cup quarterfinals

In a significant achievement, India qualified for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a commanding 4-0 victory against Lebanon in their final Group B fixture here on Friday. India’s entry into the quarters was confirmed after the Philippines and Chinese Taipei failed to win their final head-to-head Group C match by a margin of 12 goals or more. India made the last eight as one of the two best third-placed teams alongside Thailand.

IPL 2026: Spinners, Allen make it four in a row for KKR

When a modest target has to be pursued in modern-day T20 cricket, the benefits of having time and knowing the precise tempo to operate at are sizeable for the chasing team. Finn Allen may have been out of sorts heading into Kolkata Knight Riders’ clash against Delhi Capitals on Friday in IPL 2026, but this was an opportunity he wasn’t going to fritter away. The New Zealander steered KKR to a target of 143 with an unbeaten 100 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, handing the three-time champion an eight-wicket win in 14.2 overs to keep its playoff hopes alive. It was Knight Riders’ fourth victory on the trot.

Published – May 09, 2026 06:21 am IST