The Wire Wrap

It has been a week now since the Narendra Modi government’s three-Bill push for delimitation and an expanded Lok Sabha has failed, and it’s also today that the first phase in West Bengal and voting in Tamil Nadu are being held. Meanwhile, a large number of people in Noida have been arrested after the workers' protest, and the police and state government appear keen to mask the whole thing as a law and order issue. The Wire's Jahnavi Sen is joined by senior journalist Sanjay Jha and The Wire's Founding Editor M.K. Venu.

The Narendra Modi government has failed to pass bills-The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 that sought to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 and delimitation through its stated objective of operationalising 33% reservation for women. The final vote in the Lok Sabha recorded 298 ‘ayes’ and 230 ‘noes’. There were 528 MPs present and voting. The government needed two-thirds majority to pass the bills, which was 352. It fell short by 54 votes. While the government has blamed the opposition for not bringing in women's reservation, the opposition has hailed victory for stopping "an unconstitutional trick in the name of women." The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Seema Chishti, editor, The Wire and Siddharth Varadarajan.

US President Donald Trump threatened genocidal action against Iran on Tuesday, recanting it only an hour before the deadline he had imposed to say that Iran’s 10-point peace proposal was “workable”. A two-week ceasefire was agreed upon, which is now on tenuous ground as Israel continues to bomb Lebanon. Meanwhile in India, the names of about 89 lakh voters were deleted from the West Bengal voters list just weeks before the first phase of polling. Jahnavi Sen is joined by senior journalist and commentator Saba Naqvi and The Wire’s Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan to talk about these issues.

Almost a month after Israel and US started its war on Iran, leading to closure of the Strait of Hormuz and fuel disruptions in India the union government on Wednesday held an all party meeting to discuss its impact on India. While the government has said that there is enough supply to meet domestic needs, queues for fuel and shortages are being reported across the country. Meanwhile ahead of elections in Kerala the Election Commission has come under fire after a poll guideline document circulated to political parties bore a stamp of the BJP with opposition parties accusing the BJP and the poll body of swapping stamps. The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by M.K. Venu, Founding Editor, The Wire and Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, senior journalist.

Two recent habeas corpus petitions – in the Sonam Wangchuk case and on the detention of 10 students and activists in Delhi – raise questions around police action and when and how the judiciary intervenes. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has not only banned a class 8 textbook but also told the government to no longer associate with some of the experts who drafted it. And in New York City, mayor Zohran Mamdani's remarks about Palestinian-American author Susan Abulhawa have caused a stir. To discuss all of this, The Wire's Jahnavi Sen is joined by lawyers Gautam Bhatia and Shahrukh Alam.

t has now been 13 days since the US and Israel attacked Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayotallah Ali Khamenei. The US and Israel have not spared civilian sites in Iran, and heartbreaking images emerged on February 28 when a girl’s elementary school in Minab was hit and 165 schoolgirls were killed. Iran has retaliated to these aggressions by launching missiles at US military bases in Gulf states and at Israel, particularly in and around Tel Aviv. Iran has also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s biggest oil shipping channel. The Wire's Jahnavi Sen discusses these developments, India's response and more with Professor Anuradha Chenoy, who taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Ghazala Wahab, Editor of Force Magazine.

Amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Israel and while addressing the parliament there he has said that India is fully committed in its support to Israel, while making no mention of the over 70,000 people killed in Netanyahu's genocidal actions. Back in India, criticism has mounted on the Modi government after the arrests of the IYC members following their protest at the AI summit last week and allegations of a conspiracy behind the demonstration. And the French government has firmly ruled out transferring the critical source codes for the SPECTRA electronic warfare suite and other core electronic systems as part of the ongoing negotiations with India for 114 Rafale fighter jets. The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Seema Chishti, editor, The Wire and Hartosh Singh Bal, editor, The Caravan.

Eighteen months after the youth uprising that resulted in former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's fleeing to India, Bangladesh has a new government headed by the BNP's Tarique Rahman who is looking to reset ties with India. A US court has accepted the guilty plea of Nikhil Gupta, the Indian charged in the trans national plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. AI Summit in Delhi made headlines for chaos, mismanagement and Chinese robot being passed off as India. Impact of the Epstein Files meanwhile has reached the British monarchy with former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III arrested. The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor, The Wire and Sreeradha Datta, professor, international affairs at the O.P. Jindal Global University.

After days of protest by upper caste groups against the new UGC equity rules against caste based discrimination in higher educational institutions, the Supreme Court has stayed these guidelines and said that they are vague and capable of misuse. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has promised that “four to five lakh Miya voters” will be deleted when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls takes place in the poll-bound State, triggering sharp reactions Meanwhile Vijay's Jana Nayagan has been delayed again as he Madras HC raising questions about whether the delay is political and if the film will ever see the light of the day. The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Sobhana K. Nair, deputy editor, The Hindu and Saba Naqvi, senior journalist.

Nitin Nabin is now officially the new BJP president, after being elected unopposed. A 27-year-old IT worker died tragically in Noida after his car fell into a deep, open construction pit. The UP Police have detained 12 people in a Bareilly village after they offered namaaz in an empty house. And the back-and-forth between the ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board over matches to be played in India continues. The Wire's Jahnavi Sen discusses all of this with senior journalist Javed Ansari and The Wire’s political editor Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta.

A week after the enforcement directorate conducted raids on the offices of TMC political consultants IPAC leading to high drama where CM Mamata Banerjee accused the ED of seizing party information ahead of the assembly elections, the Supreme Court has issued a notice and said state agencies obstructing central agencies is a serious issue. On the other hand ahead of elections in Tamil Nadu, two separate films Parashakthi and Jana Nayagan are facing roadblocks from the censor board raising questions of whether it is politics that’s behind these films being stalled. And badminton's India Open is facing criticism because of the conditions under which the tournament is being played. The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Seema Chishti, editor at The Wire and Jomy Thomas, bureau chief, Malayala Manorama

The US under Trump has conducted large-scale military strikes in Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Trump has assented to a Russia sanctions bill that could potentially increase tariffs on India from 50% to 500% if passed. Cricket has become the latest ground for rising tensions between India and Bangladesh. And the Supreme Court has denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in what has been called the Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy’ case, while granting bail to five others. The Wire's Jahnavi Sen discusses all of this with Professor Anuradha Chenoy, who taught at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of The Wire. Edit notes: The trade referenced at 9:35 is $100 billion.

rom the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor to the sinking ties in India’s neighbourhood, troubling economic indicators and the rising nationalism in our movies: as 2025 draws to a close, The Wire Wrap’s year ender special brings you the highlights of this year in the news. The Wire’s senior political correspondent, Sravasti Dasgupta and deputy editor, Jahnavi Sen are joined by Sushant Singh, consulting editor, The Caravan and Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor, The Wire.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted a saffron flag in Ayodhya this week, at a ceremony to mark the end of Ram Temple construction. The Supreme Court in an advisory opinion said it cannot put a time limit on governors and the president granting assent to state Bills. Booth level officers are reporting immense pressure because of the special intensive revision of voter rolls. India has faced a test series defeat on home turf. The Wire’s Jahnavi Sen is joined by journalist and author Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay and The Wire’s Editor Seema Chishti to discuss all of this.

Nitish Kumar has taken oath as chief minister for the tenth time after the NDA swept the Bihar assembly elections winning 202 out of the 243 seats. A Bangladesh court has sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity, leaving questions for India and whether it will hand her over. The UP government has moved court to drop charges against those accused in the 2015 killing of Mohammad Akhlaq. And as the Naxal threat fades with top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma's killing questions remain about the future of Adivasi development. The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Ashutosh Bhardwaj, editor, The Wire Hindi and Maya Mirchandani, senior journalist.