INKLESS COUP

R Rajagopal, one of the 90 lakh voters removed from the electoral rolls after the SIR, writes. His case is under appeal before the tribunal. A journalist by default, he is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Telegraph.

ICELANDIC MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, ANYONE?

The imaginary page above could be about any of the following elections. The Scottish/Senedd parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 7, 2026, in the United Kingdom. Municipal elections in Iceland are scheduled for May 16, 2026. In Italy, local elections are scheduled to begin on May 24-25, 2026. Oh, yes! I am told election results were declared in Bengal on May 4, 2026.

I follow the Scottish, Icelandic, Italian and Bengal elections with the same interest – because I have no stake in any of them. I was not allowed to vote despite living in Bengal for over 30 years, even while my appeal is pending before a tribunal.

Even in a record turnout awash in the voting ink, that one unmarked nail matters — regardless of the number of seats where deletions outnumbered margins.

I hope the imaginary page, like a nail scratching a chalkboard, annoys the apologists who are dishing out obligatory rationalisation cloaked as morning-after wisdom on the election verdict, although anti-incumbency and the squandering of a dream mandate are indisputable. Watch this space for the Icelandic municipal election result after May 25.