The ruling party in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, sat on a dharna in front of the Naihati municipality building near Kolkata to protest the post-poll violence in the state that had allegedly left several TMC workers "homeless". The Opposition in the state lapped up the opportunity to take a dig at Banerjee, saying she was leading a dharna against her own administration. Sujan Chakraborty, Communist Party of India (Marxist) member of the state Assembly, said there couldn't be anything "more funny and absurd than this". The Opposition also wondered if Banerjee would next demand the resignation of the state home minister — a post held by Banerjee herself.
The Madhya Pradesh government, led by the Congress, is busy preparing its Budget for 2019-20. The process hasn't turned out to be as smooth as it was expected to be. Insiders say the state government is tearing its hair out over organising resources to fund the farm loan waiver scheme, announced before the Assembly elections late last year. By some estimates, the government needs about ~50,000 crore to put in motion the promised waiver. On the other hand, the Opposition is waiting with bated breath, hoping it would falter. As an observer said, “Kamal [Chief Minister Kamal Nath (pictured)] is stuck between a rock and a hard place”.