Former Union minister Smriti Irani and RSS leader Ram Madhav have returned to key organisational roles as BJP president Nitin Nabin announced his new national team on Monday. Irani has been appointed national general secretary, while Madhav is a national vice president. Union minister Piyush Goyal has been named national treasurer. The reshuffle also gives women a prominent role, with 6 appointed national vice presidents. Several leaders, including Vasundhara Raje and Baijayant Jay Panda, retained their positions. Amit Malviya has exited as the BJP’s social media head and was replaced by Deepak Mhaskey. The new team comes ahead of major Assembly elections in 2027. (PC: India Today)

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has denied BJP involvement in an alleged attack that led to the death of the father of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) volunteer Shaik Abdul Hafeez in Bankura. Hafeez and his family were allegedly attacked on August 13 after he visited a government school under the CJP’s “School Thik Karo” campaign. His father, Janab Mafik, died on August 15 from severe head injuries. Adhikari said 3 of 5 people named in the FIR have been arrested and denied any BJP connection. The CJP, however, has alleged that local BJP workers carried out the attack. (PC: The Hindu)

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has asked Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to personally meet students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations. In a letter dated August 14, Gandhi said the protests had remained peaceful and described the students’ demands as legitimate. Job aspirants have been protesting in Ranchi since July 29, seeking a probe into alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC Civil Services Examination, JSSC-CGL and other tests. They want the JPSC exam cancelled and an independent probe by the CBI or retired High Court judges. Protesters have also demanded Soren’s resignation and plan to demonstrate outside his residence on August 20. (PC: NDTV)

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday criticised the government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) after three UGC-NET June 2026 papers were cancelled and rescheduled for September. The English, Commerce and Sociology papers, conducted between June 22 and 30, will be held again after the NTA identified multiple errors, including factual, typographical and translation mistakes, along with questions repeated from previous examinations. Gandhi said students were being made to pay for mistakes committed by the examination body. In a post on X, he questioned why thousands of candidates who had spent months preparing should have to appear again because of NTA errors. He also directly questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue. (PC: India Today)  

A political row has erupted over Vande Mataram after a Congress event in Delhi. BJP leaders accused Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the full national song being sung. Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanded an apology from her. BJP workers held protests in several states. Complaints were also filed against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi over the alleged incident. Congress denied the allegations. The party said Sonia was only asking for a chair for Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit back at Shah and accused him of diverting attention from other issues. The dispute has triggered a wider political clash.

A purported handwritten suicide note was recovered after former West Bengal deputy speaker and 5-time TMC MLA Asish Banerjee was found dead at a party office in Birbhum. In the note, Banerjee allegedly wrote, “Today, I feel that entering politics was a mistake.” He also said he had never been involved in corruption and claimed he had no role in tender decisions, cheque issuance, plan approvals or no-objection certificates at the Tarapith-Rampurhat Development Authority. Banerjee further urged young members of his family not to join politics and to focus on their professions. Police are investigating, while NDTV could not independently verify the note’s authenticity. (PC: NDTV)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused Congress leader Sonia Gandhi of asking party leaders to stop the rendition of Vande Mataram during the Congress’ Independence Day programme. Addressing a gathering in Chittorgarh, Shah said the alleged act had hurt public sentiment and demanded an apology from Gandhi and the Congress. BJP leaders claimed Gandhi objected to the song being sung in full, while the Congress rejected the allegations. The party said Gandhi was only ensuring that the correct arrangements were made for the rendition. Shah also accused Congress of forgetting Vande Mataram due to “vote-bank politics”. (PC: India Today)

Former Trinamool Congress MLA and West Bengal Assembly Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee was found hanging inside a TMC office near his home in Birbhum's Rampurhat on Sunday. Banerjee was a 5-time MLA who represented Rampurhat for 25 years from 2001 to 2026, but lost the seat to BJP's Dhruba Saha in the 2026 Assembly polls. Police recovered a purported note in which Banerjee denied corruption allegations and said he had no role in tender decisions or approvals linked to the Tarapith Rampurhat Development Authority. He also alleged attempts to malign him. Police are investigating, and his body has been sent for postmortem. (PC: India Today)

Protesting students in Jharkhand have escalated their agitation over alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations, demanding stronger action from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The protesters have called on Congress to withdraw its support for Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s government or remove him from office. They are seeking cancellation of disputed examinations and a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities. The agitation has continued for weeks, with students accusing the state government of failing to adequately address their concerns. Soren has defended his government’s approach and promised reforms to make recruitment examinations more transparent. The escalating protest is increasing political pressure on the ruling alliance. (PC: X)

Former West Bengal Assembly Deputy Speaker and veteran Trinamool Congress leader Asish Banerjee was found dead at a TMC office next to his home in Rampurhat, Birbhum, on Sunday. Police said his body was found hanging and has been sent for postmortem examination. Banerjee, a five-time MLA from Rampurhat, served as Deputy Speaker and held ministerial portfolios, including agriculture and education, during Mamata Banerjee’s tenure. He was considered a close aide of the TMC chief. Banerjee lost the 2026 Assembly election to BJP’s Dhruba Saha and had stepped down as chairman of TMC’s Birbhum district core committee in June. (PC: X)