This refers to the Editorial “Power shift” (May 5).

Despite a series of defeats by Opposition parties including the ones in West Bengal and Assam now, they continue to blame the BJP for real and imaginary derelictions of Constitutional responsibility and nothing else. BJP’s committed cadre and a leadership which is ready to invest in time and a ceaseless energy to guide and perform ensured its victory.

BJP insisted on Hindutva in Assam and campaigned for the “poriborton” of a “corrupt” government in Bengal, but the Opposition kept its anti-BJP rhetoric unchanged.

YG Chouksey

Pune

Voters’ verdict

Apropos, ‘Power shift’, (May 5). India’s latest Assembly round delivered a split but emphatic verdict — sweeping rejection of incumbency in key States, alongside continuity in Assam and Puducherry.

Voters proved impatient, exacting, and ready to disrupt the status quo when governance falters. In West Bengal, the BJP’s surge marked a decisive collapse of Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. Fatigue, corruption, nepotism, and creeping thuggishness, combined with the limits of welfare-led governance, triggered a backlash that upended 15 years of dominance.

Tamil Nadu saw a structural rupture as Vijay’s TVK broke the Dravidian duopoly, sidelining DMK and AIADMK. Younger voters, untethered to old legacies, backed an untested force promising sharper governance. Kerala reaffirmed its cycle, with anti-incumbency lifting the UDF over the LDF.

N Sadhasiva Reddy

Bengaluru

Building resilience

Apropos of the article ‘An agenda for risk mitigation’ (May 5).

The author rightly highlights the risks from volatile foreign portfolio flows and the persistent current account deficit. While diversifying financing sources is essential, we also need steadier progress on the ground. Encouraging household financial savings through better products, pushing manufacturing and exports beyond a few sectors, and maintaining fiscal discipline would help reduce dependence on hot money.

M Barathi

Bengaluru

Published on May 5, 2026