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This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 6th of June and here are today's headlines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place on the evening of 9th of June, according to sources. Earlier, the ceremony was slated to take place on the 8th of June, but now it may be held at 6 pm on Sunday. The swearing-in of Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is likely to be postponed to 12th of June from 9th of June, as he has to attend PM Modi’s swearing-in first.

Meanwhile, there were more than 150 politicians who shifted from one political party to another in the fray in the elections. Of these, 13 candidates or their family members are facing probes either by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Income Tax Department, or the Enforcement Directorate. Of the 13, eight had switched sides to the BJP — seven from Congress and one from Trinamool Congress; two had switched sides to the Shiv Sena Shinde faction from the Shiv Sena, one switched to TDP from YSRCP; and two to Congress from the Jharkhand Vikas Party and Punjab Ekta Party, respectively.

The India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for thunderstorms and lightning in Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad districts starting today. Similarly, the Pune Fire Brigade had received 50 calls related to water logging and tree falls as rainwater logged major portions of roads due flash floods that hit several parts of the city. The rainfall, which meteorologists said, was very close to a cloud burst that was localized in nature.

Nine trekkers from Bengaluru died in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi after their 22-member team which was on a trekking expedition to Sahastra Tal was hit by bad weather on Tuesday afternoon. Officials confirmed today after four more bodies were recovered. The deceased were part of a 19-member group of trekkers from The Karnataka Mountaineering Association.

In global news today, Israel targeted a Gaza school that it alleged contained an Hamas compound, killing fighters involved in the Oct. 7 attack. On theother hand, the Gaza media said the strike killed at least 27 people seeking shelter. The Hamas-run government media office, rejected Israel's claims that the UN school in Nuseirat, in central Gaza, had hidden a Hamas command post. Israel's military said that before the strike by Israeli fighter jets, the military took steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians. Israel has said there will be no halt to fighting during ceasefire talks.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Flora Swain is joined by Indian Express' Sujit Bisoyi and veteran journalist Sandeep Sahu to discuss BJP's very first victory in Odisha which broke the 24 year long streak of Naveen Patnaik and the BJD. They discuss at length why it happened and where VK Pandian stands in this whole situation. 

Next, Indian Express’ Premankur Biswas speaks to political analyst Jayanta Ghoshal about Trinamool Congress' win in West Bengal despite the talks about it facing anti- incumbency. And the BJP losing ground in the state with its tally decreasing from 18 to 12 seats. Jayanta has been writing about the state for the last 40 years. (15:12)

And in the end, we talk about China congratulating PM Modi on NDA's win in the Lok Sabha elections. China has said it wants to work on the bilateral relations between the two countries. (30:05)

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Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 5th of June and here are today's headlines.


The National Democratic Alliance is likely to stake a claim to form government for the third consecutive time today, after the meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. Earlier today, Modi tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu along with his Council of Ministers. He is likely to take oath for a third consecutive term on the 8th of June. This is the first time since Jawaharlal Nehru that a prime minister will be returning to power for a third consecutive term. With the BJP failing to go past the majority mark on their own, their allies Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar are in Delhi today for a meeting.

As the INDIA bloc leaders prepare to meet at Congress President Malllikarjun Kharge’s residence today, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that there had been no discussion within the bloc on reaching out to the TDP or JD(U) to shore up the numbers of the alliance for government formation. Congress leader KC Venugopal said that the INDIA bloc’s tally in the Lok Sabha Elections was “excellent” and that the alliance leaders would discuss their strategy at the meeting.

While taking responsibility for the setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party Maharashtra in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, Devendra Fadnavis today offered to step down as the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and work for the party. Fadnavisa said the Lok Sabha election results were way below the party’s expectations.This is the second time that Fadnavis has expressed his wish to remain outside the government and lead the BJP unit.

A city court has rejected Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail plea in a money laundering case related to the excise policy, even as it extended his judicial custody till 19th of June. Special judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Courts dismissed Kejriwal’s plea seeking interim bail for seven days on medical grounds. The blow comes just a day after the Kejriwal’s party AAP failed to make a mark in the Lok Sabha elections, with the BJP dominating the national capital for the third time in a row, winning all seven Lok Sabha seats.

Wishes poured in from across the world for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance for a third term in a row as they won 293 Lok Sabha seats. The American daily The Washington Post called India's Lok Sabha election results 2024 as determined by Indian voters to be an "unexpected repudiation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership." British daily The Guardian said "it was clear that the landslide for the BJP predicted in polls had not materialised and instead there had been a pushback against the strongman prime minister and his Hindu nationalist politics in swathes of the country."

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

From the BJP managing to win only 240 seats (despite a '400 paar' campaign), to the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh emerging as the party with the third-highest number of seats in the country, to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) pushing back strongly in West Bengal, and the Congress party significantly increasing its tally, today on the podcast, we decode the rather surprising results of the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls.

Guests: Indian Express’ Vandita Mishra, Neerja Chowdhury, Asad Rehman, Shubhajit Roy, Liz Mathew, Deeptiman Tiwary, and Hamza Khan.

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Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
Additional support from Mahiyar Rohinton Patel

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 4th of June and here are today's headlines.


With the NDA poised to form the government for a third consecutive time, bagging at least 290 seats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “historic feat”. As the INDIA bloc managed to halt the BJP’s march towards majority, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came out to hit out at the BJP, saying that the mandate today was a clear indication that the people of the country do not want to PM Modi and Amit Shah to run the country. The Opposition INDIA bloc has reversed all exit poll predictions, leading in at least 228 seats, according to the latest numbers. However, despite a stiff contest, the BJP-led NDA is inching closer towards the 300-mark, standing at 297 at the moment.

In what is probably the biggest upset state-wise, the tug-of-war for Odisha between BJP and BJD ended today with the Bharatiya Janata Party set to form the next government. Though the ruling BJD party hels various rallies and election campaigns, the saffron party has crossed the majority mark of 74. Odisha CHief Minister Naveen Patnaik served for five consecutive terms, but now the lotus party will form its first cabinet in the coastal state.

In a major setback for the BJP, Union minister Smriti Irani lost to the Congress’s K L Sharma in Amethi, as Congress wrest back power. The Amethi win comes as a big boost to the Congress, with Rahul Gandhi losing the seat to Irani in 2019. In neighbouring Rae Bareli, a Congress party bastion for decades, Rahul defeated BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh, who apologised to the people of Rae Bareli.

Behind the remarkable turnaround for the Opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress in Uttar Pradesh where the INDIA bloc was leading, some fascinating factors may have given them an upper hand over the BJP. One of the factors that may have worked in favour of the SP, is its ticket-distribution strategy. Unlike previous elections, the SP ticket distribution focused on non-Yadav OBCs. Also, the SP changed candidates in several constituencies, depending on feedback from local cadre and local caste equation.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and its allies, the JanaSena Party (JSP) of Pawan Kalyan and BJP, are headed for a landslide in Andhra Pradesh, in what is a complete reversal of the 2019 results. This is quite a turnaround for the TDP-led alliance, which was almost written off months before the elections after its chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest. Jagan seemed to have lost focus on governance issues in trying to implement his nine welfare schemes, which he had promised during his padyatra ahead of the 2019 polls.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express' Sukrita Baruah joins us to talk about Arunachal Pradesh's assembly elections. She shares the results of the assembly elections and the seat distribution that it has led to.

Next, Indian Express’ Damini Nath speaks to us about the BJP and the opposition INDIA Bloc approaching the Election Commission with concerns, days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results. She shares the issues that were expressed and the election authority's response. (8:26)

And in the end, we talk about BRS leader K Kavitha who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate due to her involvement in the Delhi excise policy scam. Her judicial custody has been extended till June 3. (14:53)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar