Prateek Bordoloi, the Congress candidate from Margherita for next month’s Assam assembly elections, withdrew from the race while reaffirming his belief in the party’s principles and pledging to keep supporting it. The move happened just hours after his father, Pradyut Bordoloi, switched to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Pradyut Bordoloi had resigned as the Congress MP from Assam’s Nagaon before joining the BJP. (X). Prateek Bordoloi pointed to altered circumstances after his father’s defection, announcing his decision to withdraw as a candidate. He voiced his wish to keep working for the Congress. “In the current situation, after my father’s decision to join another political party, I feel it would be inappropriate for me to remain a candidate,” he wrote in a letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday. “I believe the people of Margherita and the numerous dedicated Congress workers deserve complete clarity and confidence in the party’s candidate.” It would be unjust to them if any misunderstanding or impression emerges about my dedication or the party’s stance. Prateek Bordoloi stated that he would continue working in any role deemed suitable by the Congress leadership. On Wednesday, Pradyut Bordoloi said he had advised his son to decide his own path without influence from his decision to join the BJP. Gaurav Gogoi, the State Congress chief, offered sympathy and moral support to Prateek Bordoloi. Pradyut Bordoloi had resigned as the Congress MP from Assam’s Nagaon before joining the BJP. 

 Delhi witnessed a dramatic shift in weather on Wednesday, as sudden rain, gusty winds, and a steep drop in temperatures due to these brought back a winter-like chill to the capital that was warming up to welcome the summer season.. People seen during a sudden dust storm and rain in Delhi on Wednesday, March 18 (Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times). The change was triggered by an active western disturbance over northwest India, which intensified rapidly on Wednesday evening.. Strong winds of up to 68 km/h swept across parts of the city, followed by short but intense spells of rain. Within just an hour, temperatures plunged sharply – from around 29 degrees Celsius to nearly 19 degrees Celsius – catching residents off guard and disrupting normal life, including flight operations at Indira Gandhi Airport (IGI) Airport.. ‘Rare’ weather system. Weather experts described the weather system bringing rain over North India as rare, giving more details on the unusual nature of this system. “An unusual Western Disturbance has reached North India. Its structure is quite different. A trough is situated in a straight line spanning thousands of kilometers, which is generally very rare. It has the capacity to create very strong thunderstorms and thunderclouds, so be cautious and follow IMD,” said Dr. Pradeep, who describes himself as a climate scientist, on X.. The impact is expected to be far from over. Forecasts suggest multiple spells of rain and gusty winds over the next couple of days, keeping temperatures well below the seasonal average. In fact, conditions may resemble peak winter more than mid-March, according to Navdeep Dahiya, an amateur weatherman.. Highlighting the rarity of the temperature dip, Dahiya posted on X on Wednesday, “Rare #Coldday conditions expected on 20th March amid rains in #Delhi NCR #Haryana #Punjab #Chandigarh #Rajasthan & w #UttarPradesh as maximum temperatures are likely in the range of 16 to 22°c at most cities. Would be 10 to 15°c below normal for the day. Bring your woolens out again! ??”. “Get ready for January kind of rains on 19th and 20th March, Sweater weather alert! Moderate to heavy rains, thundershowers and sudden drop in temperatures to a range of 18-24°c maxtemp expected in #Delhi NCR #Chandigarh #Haryana #Punjab #Rajasthan & #UttarPradesh on 20th March. Heavy snowfall accumulation predicted for #Himalayas. Dont pack your jackets yet, might need it for a day or two,” Dahiya said in another post on X.. Yellow alert issued, peak intensity likely on Friday. The sudden cooling has already been evident across Delhi-NCR, with several areas recording light to moderate rainfall and a noticeable chill in the air. Weather experts say the peak intensity of this system is likely to be felt on Friday, March 20, with overcast skies, thunderstorms, and further dips in temperature.. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Thursday and Friday, forecasting multiple spells of light rain and gusty winds of up to 50 kmph. The maximum t 

 Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Thursday after a three-day rally following a sharp jump in crude oil prices and weak global trends.. Stock market numbers are displayed as traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 12, 2026 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP). Moreover, unabated foreign fund outflows also dented market sentiments, analysts said.. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,953.21 points, or 2.54 per cent, to 74,750.92 in opening trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 580.05 points, or 2.43 per cent, to 23,197.75.. From the 30-Sensex firms, HDFC Bank declined over 3 per cent as in a sudden move, Atanu Chakraborty resigned as chairman of the country’s second biggest lender, citing ethical concerns.. Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal and Bajaj Finance were also among the major laggards.. Also Read | PhonePe IPO put on hold as Iran war rattles stock market. NTPC and Power Grid were the only gainers.. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 3.77 per cent to USD 111.4 per barrel.. “Brent crude has shot up to USD 111. This is bad news for oil and gas importers like India. If Brent remains above USD 110 for an extended period of time, that will have negative implications for India’s macros,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.. The market has been exceedingly volatile in response to developments on the war front and crude prices, he added.. In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading significantly lower.. The US market ended sharply lower on Wednesday.. “Sentiment has weakened significantly following a sharp surge in crude oil prices, as escalating tensions in the Middle East and reported attacks on key energy infrastructure have intensified concerns over supply disruptions,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,714.35 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth ₹3,253.03 crore.. Continued FII selling reflects a clear risk-off approach, with sustained capital outflows weighing on market stability, Ponmudi added.. On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 633.29 points, or 0.83 per cent, to settle at 76,704.13. The Nifty surged 196.65 points, or 0.83 per cent, to end at 23,777.80. 

 Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress will fight 95 of Kerala’s 140 seats, two more than it did in 2021, as part of a seat-sharing arrangement within the United Democratic Front (UDF) that was finalised on Wednesday after hectic consultations at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.. Thiruvananthapuram: Election posters of candidates and leaders displayed on a wall ahead of the Kerala Legislative Assembly election, in Thiruvananthapuram, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (PTI). As per the seat-sharing formula revealed by Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will contest 27 seats, unchanged from the last time.. PJ Joseph-led Kerala Congress (KC) was allotted eight seats, two less than in 2021. Ettumanoor and Idukki constituencies, fought by KC last time, will be taken over by the Congress as part of a one-time arrangement, Satheesan said.. Additionally, the Congress will take over Thrikkaripur seat from KC, while giving the party Kanhangad seat. “Unlike previous years, the seat sharing discussions were very smooth this time. The release of lists got delayed, not due to any tussles over seats,” Satheesan said.. Also Read | Kerala polls: BJP releases 1st candidates list; Rajeev Chandrasekhar named from Nemom. The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), led by Shibu Baby John, was allotted five seats. Instead of the Mattannur seat in Kannur district that it traditionally fights, the RSP opted for Payyannur where it will support the candidature of Communist Party of India (Marxist) rebel V Kunhikrishnan, who raised allegations of misappropriation of party funds against his former party. The Mattannur seat will go to the Congress.. Other allies who get one seat each include Kerala Congress (Jacob) in Piravom, Communist Marxist Party (CMP) in Thiruvananthapuram, Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) in Vatakara, Mani C Kappen-led party in Pala and PV Anvar (Trinamool Congress) in Beypore.. The IUML will finalise its nominees in two seats by Thursday. With that, the UDF, which hopes to dislodge the Left Democratic Front after a decade, will have declared all its candidates.. Kerala goes to the polls on April 9. The ruling LDF has already declared 137 candidates and the third force, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has released 71 names.. Among the battleground seats are Palakkad, Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu, Peravoor and Manjeshwar.. In the ruling LDF, the CPI (M) dominates with 86 seats, followed by the CPI’s 25. Smaller allies hold limited but strategic spots: KC(M) with 12, RJD with 3 JD(S) and NCP with 3 each, INL with three seats, and one seat apiece for LJD, NSC, KC(B), Cong(S), and JKC.. On Wednesday, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the CPI(M) announced more candidates for the upcoming polls.. The RJD – an ally of the Congress at the national level and in Bihar but fighting in Kerala as part of the LDF – revealed three candidates. The CPI(M) unveiled four names as independents.. The RJD, led by MV Sreyams Kumar, decided to field 

 New Delhi: A parliamentary panel on Wednesday recommended the central government to take “concrete, time-bound steps” to ensure that by 2030, public expenditure on education increases to 6% of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP), a target set by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, while noting that the current spending, both by the Centre and states, stands at 4.06% of the GDP.. A parliamentary panel on Wednesday recommended the central government to take “concrete, time-bound steps” to ensure that by 2030, public expenditure on education increases to 6% of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP), (Sansad TV). The panel also recommended that the Centre more than double research and development (R&D) spending from 0.64% to 1.5% of GDP. It added that the expenditure on education was lower than key Brics countries like Brazil (5.62%) and South Africa (6.16%).. The 31-member parliamentary standing committee on education, women, children, youth and sports is headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh. In its ‘demands for grants of the department of higher education, ministry of education for 2026-27’ presented to Parliament on Wednesday, the panel expressed its concerns over “alarming” 73.9% cut in the capital head (amount dedicated to long-term, non-recurring investments that create assets or reduce liabilities) of the department in its allocated budget from ₹10.27 crore in budget estimate (BE) 2025-26 to ₹2.68 crore in BE 2026-27, and recommended a five-year capital investment plan with direct capital allocation from BE 2027-28.. The panel flagged 67.6% staff shortages at the University Grants Commission, “severely” impacting the commission’s capacity to discharge its functions. It has also expressed concerns over 63.6% vacancies at All India Council for Technical Education.. The panel has flagged poor global outcomes under the Institutions of Eminence (IoE) scheme as no Indian university is in QS top 100. It has recommended annual accountability reports, strict monitoring (including for private IoEs), time-bound global benchmarks, and linking future funding to measurable gains in research, faculty quality and internationalisation.. Flagging zero spending under the National Digital University (NDU) despite allocations of ₹100 crore in 2024-25 and ₹25 crore in 2025-26, the panel has sought a time-bound rollout plan and clarity on mandate, while recommending its complement — to not compete with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) by focusing on credit-based online degrees and micro-credentials.. The panel welcomed the announcement in the Union budget 2026-27 for a girls’ STEM hostel in every district and asked the ministry to finalise a detailed rollout plan with funding model, timelines and eligibility norms, while prioritising low female Gross Enrolment Rate (GER), aspirational, Naxal-affected and tribal districts, and ensuring high-speed internet access in all hostels.. The panel backed entry of foreign univers