<\/p><\/div>","metadata":{"promotional-message":true}}],"card-updated-at":1777393800635,"content-version-id":"fd9dd765-bdb1-42b9-b974-d33327292236","card-added-at":1777393677760,"status":"draft","id":"e50b65b2-4a4f-4ab3-a863-43638bae4fcc","content-id":"e50b65b2-4a4f-4ab3-a863-43638bae4fcc","version":4,"metadata":{"social-share":{"shareable":false,"title":"El Nino, Monsoon Deficiency Threaten Indian Kharif Pulse Production","message":null,"image":{"key":"freepressjournal\/2025-10-21\/jd9394a3\/Copy-of-Queen-Of-All-Mayhem-2025-10-22T042034.890.jpg","url":null,"attribution":"Representational Image","alt-text":null,"caption":"Climate concerns grow as India\u2019s pulse crops face El Ni\u00f1o and weak monsoon risks","metadata":{"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","width":1200,"file-size":133481,"file-name":"Copy-of-Queen-Of-All-Mayhem-2025-10-22T042034.890.jpg","height":675}}},"attributes":[]}}],"url":"https:\/\/www.freepressjournal.in\/analysis\/el-nino-monsoon-deficiency-threaten-indian-kharif-pulse-production","story-version-id":"a5fc36f7-6978-4769-adce-f79b1aa94ccd","content-type":"story","content-updated-at":1777393804587,"author-id":2118138,"owner-id":1949046,"linked-story-ids":[],"access":null,"promotional-message":"
<\/p><\/div>","asana-project-id":null,"first-published-at":1777393803619,"hero-image-caption":"Climate concerns grow as India\u2019s pulse crops face El Ni\u00f1o and weak monsoon risks","version":4,"story-template":"text","sequence-no":null,"created-at":1777393800622,"authors":[{"slug":"g-chandrashekhar","social":[],"name":"G Chandrashekhar","contributor-role":null,"avatar-url":null,"bio":null,"id":2118138,"avatar-s3-key":null,"twitter-handle":null}],"metadata":{"card-share":{"shareable":false}},"subscription-metadata":null,"publish-at":null,"assignee-name":"Imran Shaikh"}},{"id":"5d7316c6-1717-451b-ac53-91195d0c9fc3","score":null,"type":"story","item":{"headline":["Will The MLC Elections Create New Political Equations In Maharashtra?"]},"story":{"updated-at":1777393578798,"seo":{"meta-description":"Speculation is rising over the Maharashtra MLC elections, with talk of possible BJP and Uddhav Thackeray cooperation to ensure an unopposed outcome. The developments could reshape equations within the state\u2019s alliance politics.","meta-keywords":["Maharashtra MLC elections","BJP Uddhav alliance","Uddhav Thackeray MLC","Eknath Shinde BJP","Maharashtra politics 2026","Vidhan Bhavan elections","MLC nominations Maharashtra","Mahayuti MVA politics","Devendra Fadnavis news","Political realignment Maharashtra"],"meta-title":"Will The MLC Elections Create New Political Equations In Maharashtra?","claim-reviews":{"story":null}},"assignee-id":1949046,"author-name":"Rohit Chandavarkar","tags":[],"headline":"Will The MLC Elections Create New Political Equations In Maharashtra?","storyline-id":null,"votes":[],"story-content-id":"5d7316c6-1717-451b-ac53-91195d0c9fc3","slug":"analysis\/will-the-mlc-elections-create-new-political-equations-in-maharashtra","last-published-at":1777393580511,"public-identifier":null,"subheadline":"Speculation is rising over the Maharashtra MLC elections, with talk of possible BJP and Uddhav Thackeray cooperation to ensure an unopposed outcome. The developments could reshape equations within the state\u2019s alliance politics.","alternative":[],"sections":[{"domain-slug":null,"slug":"analysis","name":"Analysis","section-url":"https:\/\/www.freepressjournal.in\/analysis","id":9784,"parent-id":null,"display-name":"Analysis","collection":{"slug":"analysis","name":"OPINIONS","id":22638},"data":null}],"read-time":4,"access-level-value":null,"content-created-at":1777393475612,"is-embargoed":false,"owner-name":"Imran Shaikh","custom-slug":null,"push-notification":null,"publisher-id":571,"hero-image-metadata":{"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","width":1200,"file-size":95496,"file-name":"Untitled-design-2026-02-21T231238.249.jpg","height":675},"comments":null,"word-count":968,"story-features":{"push-notification":{"is-scheduled":false,"publish-at":null,"linked-with-story-fields-status":{"title":null,"message":null}}},"entities":[],"published-at":1777393580511,"embargoed-till":null,"breaking-news-linked-story-id":null,"storyline-title":null,"summary":null,"push-notification-title":null,"external-id":null,"canonical-url":null,"hero-image-hyperlink":null,"autotags":[],"linked-entities":[],"status":"published","hero-image-attribution":"File Pic","bullet-type":"123","hero-image-alt-text":null,"id":"5d7316c6-1717-451b-ac53-91195d0c9fc3","hero-image-s3-key":"freepressjournal\/2026-02-21\/u4jzvx4x\/Untitled-design-2026-02-21T231238.249.jpg","contributors":null,"cards":[{"story-elements":[{"description":"","page-url":"\/story\/5d7316c6-1717-451b-ac53-91195d0c9fc3\/element\/21357262-5d39-42a1-8220-2f4d5b3a925a","type":"text","family-id":"b6449a47-1178-496a-865c-0e0cdbe39dbc","title":"","id":"21357262-5d39-42a1-8220-2f4d5b3a925a","metadata":[],"subtype":null,"text":"
The big question this week in Maharashtra is whether there is a new political equation emerging in the state between the BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray over the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) polls. Many say both sides of the political divide are of the view that this process should be made unopposed, similar to the recent Rajya Sabha elections for six seats, which saw cooperation between the ruling and opposition sides in the state legislature. There are nine seats of the State Legislative Council for which nominations will be filed in the first week of May, and in case more than nine nominations come, voting will happen on May 12 at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.<\/p>
Speculation over unopposed polls<\/strong><\/p>The buzz in regional media and among party activists is that there have been some negotiations between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the BJP to make this an unopposed poll process so that there are only nine nominations and every candidate is declared elected unopposed. But have such talks really happened? Will the election to the MLC seats happen unopposed? If the answers to these questions are positive, it would certainly kick-start a new phase of cooperation between former alliance partners, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the BJP, who have been at loggerheads since 2019.<\/p>
Seat arithmetic and party strategies<\/strong><\/p>The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi are keenly contesting the MLC elections with all their strategies in place. The quota for each seat of the MLC is 29 votes from the State Assembly, which means that to win a single seat in the State Council a political outfit needs 29 MLAs voting in its favour. This electoral equation makes it clear that the BJP can get five MLC seats, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena can get two seats, while the NCP will get one seat and the Maha Vikas Aghadi is left with an MLA quota worth only one MLC seat. As long as every party files only the same number of nominations that they are likely to win, surely the election process will go unopposed. Such a process was seen happening in the recent Rajya Sabha polls too in the state, and Sharad Pawar won as Maha Vikas Aghadi's lone candidate. Six Members of the Rajya Sabha were elected unopposed with nobody filing nominations beyond their stipulated quota. Now many are wondering whether the same will happen with the MLC polls.<\/p>
Uddhav Thackeray\u2019s possible candidature<\/strong><\/p>Shiv Sena insiders say that Uddhav Thackeray has made it clear that he will file the nomination only if the election process is ensured to be unopposed. Who can ensure this? Most agree that it is only the BJP that can ensure that the MLC poll process happens unopposed. It is only the BJP which can take a call that they will not file more nominations beyond their stipulated quota, and only they can put pressure on somebody like Eknath Shinde to do the same, as reports started emerging on Monday that Shinde's Shiv Sena was likely to file a 10th nomination, making polling on May 12 mandatory.<\/p>
Denials and political signals<\/strong><\/p>Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis vehemently denied reports on Marathi digital media platforms that he had a secret late-night meeting with Uddhav Thackeray last week; however, regional media, both conventional and digital, are full of speculation about what is transpiring between the BJP and Uddhav Thackeray. Have there been some discussions through emissaries about making the nomination process unopposed? Has there been an agreement that the BJP will \"cooperate\" for Uddhav Thackeray's unopposed entry into the State Legislative Council? The answer to this question will be revealed only when Uddhav Thackeray files his nomination or the Shiv Sena announces that he has decided not to do so. This is likely to happen before the deadline of May 4, 2026. But if Uddhav files his nomination, it will straight away mean that he has got some assurance from the BJP-led Mahayuti that the MLC election will be unopposed. If this happens, it will mark a new phase in Maharashtra\u2019s politics, with some level of cooperation between the BJP and Uddhav Thackeray's party.<\/p>
Changing equations with Shinde<\/strong><\/p>All these developments must be seen with a larger perspective. The relations between the BJP and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde are fast changing. Insiders are talking about the changing equation between Shinde and the BJP, about how and why both these parties clashed on the field in the Satara district during the recent district council, or zilla parishad, polls. Shinde's minister and leader from Satara, Shambhuraj Desai, even got physically injured in the clashes ahead of the polling in this western Maharashtra district.<\/p>
That Shinde's ambitions are growing is no secret. Shinde sees himself as an emerging strong Maratha face who can quickly fill the vacuum created by the obvious decline of the Nationalist Congress Party, or NCP. Shinde's party is busy projecting their leader as the next big \"Maratha Strongman\" in the four districts of Western Maharashtra, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Pune.<\/p>
Obviously, the BJP, which has been eyeing the cash-rich political turf of western Maharashtra, is not comfortable with this. They want Shinde with them, but they also want to control his growth in regions beyond Konkan and the Mumbai Metro Region, or MMR. It is very clear and obvious that the BJP is now looking at Eknath Shinde as a competitor in the Hindutva space and may want to counter him in the field as well as in the state legislature. One of the ways the BJP can achieve this is by empowering Uddhav Thackeray, and many say the process of the BJP empowering Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena may commence in the near future.<\/p>
Rohit Chandavarkar is a senior journalist who has worked for 31 years with various leading newspaper brands and television channels in Mumbai and Pune.<\/em><\/p>"},{"id":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","description":"","title":"","subtype":null,"type":"text","text":"<\/p><\/div>","metadata":{"promotional-message":true}}],"card-updated-at":1777393570755,"content-version-id":"3e9cdf3f-06a6-4252-afd8-53929cbc4867","card-added-at":1777393475618,"status":"draft","id":"67ed21a3-9b52-4f5a-9852-b3f8f066b4f5","content-id":"67ed21a3-9b52-4f5a-9852-b3f8f066b4f5","version":3,"metadata":{"social-share":{"shareable":false,"title":"Will The MLC Elections Create New Political Equations In Maharashtra?","message":null,"image":{"key":"freepressjournal\/2026-02-21\/u4jzvx4x\/Untitled-design-2026-02-21T231238.249.jpg","url":null,"attribution":"File Pic","alt-text":null,"caption":"Speculation grows over Maharashtra MLC polls and shifting alliances among key parties","metadata":{"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","width":1200,"file-size":95496,"file-name":"Untitled-design-2026-02-21T231238.249.jpg","height":675}}},"attributes":[]}}],"url":"https:\/\/www.freepressjournal.in\/analysis\/will-the-mlc-elections-create-new-political-equations-in-maharashtra","story-version-id":"da84807b-e753-42be-af7d-c5973dab36f1","content-type":"story","content-updated-at":1777393580741,"author-id":1803388,"owner-id":1949046,"linked-story-ids":[],"access":null,"promotional-message":"
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The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, signed early this week, is now being described as \u201conce in a generation\u201d. For an FTA that took just nine months to piece together, it can only be seen in a different light. Complex FTAs take years for a reason, and they require granular negotiation. This bypassed all that. When you strip away the ceremony, a number of fundamental issues arise that neither side\u2019s press releases mention.<\/p>
MSMEs and past FTA concerns<\/strong><\/p>India\u2019s FTAs have always wrought a systemic problem that nearly no one in the Indian policy conversation tackles aggressively: Indian exporters, particularly the MSMEs. India\u2019s FTAs with ASEAN, South Korea, and Japan all generated significant controversy precisely because import penetration into India rose sharply while Indian exporters\u2014lacking the documentation sophistication, rules-of-origin compliance capacity, and market access support\u2014failed to capture the reciprocal gains.<\/p>
New Zealand exporters, in contrast, function in a well-resourced, trade-savvy environment with government-supported infrastructure. For example, zero tariffs on NZ forestry are a blow to the Indian industry. Tariffs on forestry exports\u2014a major export to India\u2014will see more than 95 per cent enter tariff-free, with tariffs on almost all existing trade phased out over seven years.<\/p>
Agriculture access and domestic impact<\/strong><\/p>New Zealand has also won vital new quota access for kiwifruit and apples, with volumes starting well ahead of recent average trade volumes and growing beyond them. The first nation to enjoy preferential access to the Indian apple market under any Indian FTA is New Zealand. India has handed NZ a historic first. Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir\u2014politically sensitive and economically fragile hill communities\u2014will struggle to challenge preferentially priced New Zealand apples in an environment which they have historically dominated.<\/p>
However, to India's credit, it has secured protection for its dairy products. New Zealand offers duty-free access to Indian goods, while dairy exports (30 per cent of New Zealand's total goods exports) are largely excluded.<\/p>
Political uncertainty in New Zealand<\/strong><\/p>The FTA has been labelled by New Zealand\u2019s Labour Party as \u201chigh risk\u201d. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is calling the agreement \"neither free nor fair\". The coalition government will require at least one opposition party to support the agreement for it to become effective. Wellington signed an agreement, but it cannot be proven that it will pass at this time.<\/p>
The Opposition believes that NZ has given far greater access to its labour market than necessary. The deal\u2019s immigration concessions\u2014a Temporary Employment Entry visa pathway with a maximum of 5,000 visas at any time for qualified Indian professionals\u2014will face tough political scrutiny as the ratification process continues.<\/p>
Lessons from earlier trade deals<\/strong><\/p>India's track record with rushed FTAs is not encouraging. The ASEAN FTA, concluded under political pressure to demonstrate India's openness to trade, inflicted years of industrial pain. This deal has followed a similar path, mistaken for success and signed before the heavy lifting had been completed.<\/p>"},{"id":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","description":"","title":"","subtype":null,"type":"text","text":"
<\/p><\/div>","metadata":{"promotional-message":true}}],"card-updated-at":1777393310852,"content-version-id":"0c484d77-b111-4bfc-abeb-b2051a2e6799","card-added-at":1777393187176,"status":"draft","id":"fdcfd8d4-9155-43d9-8d96-b7112b3b8966","content-id":"fdcfd8d4-9155-43d9-8d96-b7112b3b8966","version":4,"metadata":{"social-share":{"shareable":false,"title":"The India-New Zealand FTA: A Deal In Search Of Victory","message":null,"image":{"key":"freepressjournal\/2026-04-28\/ejgeypmb\/20250317170L.jpg","url":null,"attribution":"ANI","alt-text":null,"caption":"The India-New Zealand trade pact triggers debate over exports, agriculture and political approval","metadata":{"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","focus-point":null,"width":3606,"file-size":1280433,"file-name":"20250317170L.jpg","height":2028}}},"attributes":[]}}],"url":"https:\/\/www.freepressjournal.in\/analysis\/the-india-new-zealand-fta-a-deal-in-search-of-victory","story-version-id":"fda6dac5-460d-4d1d-b088-5d9446b66292","content-type":"story","content-updated-at":1777393313089,"author-id":662721,"owner-id":1949046,"linked-story-ids":[],"access":null,"promotional-message":"
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In the harrowing opening of Kim Stanley Robinson\u2019s 2020 science fiction novel, The Ministry for the Future<\/em>, a humid 38\u00b0C heatwave in Uttar Pradesh turns the very air into a mass executioner, transforming a familiar landscape into a graveyard of climate catastrophe.<\/p>As I write, the temperature in Banda, Varanasi, and Agra in Uttar Pradesh has crossed 44\u00b0C. Delhi is sizzling.<\/p>
This is not just an Indian story. Asia is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, fuelling more extreme weather and wreaking a heavy toll on economies, ecosystems, and societies, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).<\/p>
Japan\u2019s legal response to rising heat<\/strong><\/p>Japan is one country that has responded with decisive action. In June 2025, it amended an existing law to make heatstroke prevention a legal obligation for employers. Firms must implement measures\u2014such as shaded break areas, breathable clothing, air-conditioned rest spaces, mandatory rest breaks, and clear emergency transport protocols\u2014whenever the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) reaches 28\u00b0C or air temperatures reach 31\u00b0C for sustained periods.<\/p>
WBGT is the \"true feel\" of heat because it combines air temperature with humidity, wind, and solar radiation, providing an early warning for heatstroke. Failure to comply can bring fines of up to \u00a5500,000 (about USD 3,475), public citations, or even imprisonment in rare cases. Driven by rising heat deaths in construction and manufacturing, Japan's new mandate finally gives heat safety legal teeth.<\/p>
India and ASEAN lag behind<\/strong><\/p>India and the ASEAN nations face the same escalating threat, yet their responses remain fragmented and largely advisory. India is home to one of the world\u2019s largest informal sectors, but despite advisories from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, \u201cthere is no legally binding standard in Indian labour law that mandates enforceable heat-specific occupational safety requirements, leaving significant gaps in protection for large segments of the workforce, including those employed in industrial, construction, and supply chain activities,\" says a February 2026 white paper by the Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a leading climate think tank.<\/p>
\u201cThis absence of enforceable heat stress regulations constrains firms\u2019 ability to integrate worker-centred climate adaptation measures into routine operational compliance frameworks, thereby weakening overall industrial resilience.\u201d<\/p>
India's national and state Heat Action Plans provide guidance\u2014rest breaks, water, and shaded areas\u2014but they are not legally binding and carry no specific fines for non-enforcement.<\/p>
ASEAN presents mixed picture<\/strong><\/p>The ASEAN presents a patchwork. Singapore comes closest to Japan\u2019s model, using shade as climate armour, expanding covered walkways, planting streetside trees, and relying on buildings to cool public spaces. Since 2023, employers at outdoor worksites must install wet bulb sensors, monitor heat, and enforce threshold-based protections\u2014mandatory water breaks at 31\u00b0C WBGT and 10 to 15-minute shaded rests at 32-33\u00b0C or higher. The rules are backed by the Workplace Safety and Health Act, with the Ministry of Manpower issuing inspections, fines, and stop-work orders.<\/p>
Thailand maintains an older occupational heat standard using WBGT limits for different work intensities, requiring adjustments, protective gear warnings, and health checks.<\/p>
Economic and human costs of heat stress<\/strong><\/p>Japan\u2019s decisive step shows what is possible when governments treat extreme heat as the occupational emergency it is. Mandated worker protection is a cost-saving measure, not a cost.<\/p>
Millions of India\u2019s outdoor and informal workers\u2014construction labourers, street vendors, gig riders, farmers, and garment factory staff\u2014suffer headaches, dizziness, cramps, and worse, with no paid leave or legal safeguards. Heat stress-affected India lost 4.3 per cent of working hours in 1995 and is projected to lose 5.8 per cent of working hours in 2030, according to the International Labour Organisation.<\/p>
Pressure on Indian garment sector<\/strong><\/p>Then, there are emerging factors. In 2025, the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry formally expanded its mandate to include a binding protocol on heat stress and renewed its safety operations in manufacturing regions. Currently, textile and garment factories in the Accord\u2019s covered countries are in Bangladesh and Pakistan.<\/p>
But Indian garment suppliers will be under pressure to adopt similar preventive measures\u2014better ventilation, cooling, workload adjustments, and rest breaks\u2014if they want to stay competitive in international supply chains.<\/p>
India\u2019s community tools offer lessons<\/strong><\/p>India\u2019s Heat Action Plans, though non-binding, contain community-level tools\u2014early warnings, public cooling centres, and awareness campaigns\u2014that the ASEAN could adapt for informal workers and the urban poor.<\/p>
There is also an urgent need to equip frontline workers to diagnose and treat heat-related ailments.<\/p>
\u201cIndia has heat training plans in place, but they are slow to reach the workers who need them the most. ASHA workers and community health staff often receive guidance only after the heatwave has already begun. Some hospitals now have dedicated heatstroke wards, but these remain patchy\u2014especially rural primary health centres lack the requisite equipment or the training to handle heat emergencies.<\/p>
The encouraging sign is that the central government is now taking this seriously, pushing guidelines down to every district, and embedding heat preparedness into routine health programmes. If that momentum holds, frontline workers should be significantly better equipped within the next few seasons. The training material is also being translated into the local language and is more pictorial,\u201d says Dr Vidhya Venugopal, Country Director, NIHR Global Health Research Centre for Non-Communicable Diseases and Environmental Change, and faculty at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai.<\/p>
Need for regional cooperation<\/strong><\/p>India and the ASEAN can learn from Japan\u2014and from one another. Mutual learning could even spark regional cooperation: an ASEAN-India dialogue on heat-resilient labour standards, sharing data, inspector training, and passive cooling innovations from the new ASEAN roadmap.<\/p>
Patralekha Chatterjee is a writer and columnist who spends her time in South and Southeast Asia, and looks at modern-day connects between the two adjacent regions. X: @Patralekha2011<\/em><\/p>"},{"id":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","description":"","title":"","subtype":null,"type":"text","text":"<\/p><\/div>","metadata":{"promotional-message":true}}],"card-updated-at":1777307145539,"content-version-id":"acf10d00-ca68-4077-812b-28fe37eec833","card-added-at":1777306918260,"status":"draft","id":"300f241b-0dc8-45b6-b8b7-4995697b225b","content-id":"300f241b-0dc8-45b6-b8b7-4995697b225b","version":5,"metadata":{"social-share":{"shareable":false,"title":"Why India And ASEAN Must Learn From Japan\u2019s Landmark Worker Heat Protection Laws","message":null,"image":{"key":"freepressjournal\/2026-04-27\/i3efdz37\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Queen-Of-All-Mayhem-37.jpg","url":null,"attribution":"AI Generated Representational Image","alt-text":null,"caption":"Rising heat across Asia renews focus on stronger workplace protections for outdoor workers","metadata":{"width":1200,"height":675,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","file-size":157543,"file-name":"Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Queen-Of-All-Mayhem-37.jpg"}}},"attributes":[]}}],"url":"https:\/\/www.freepressjournal.in\/analysis\/why-india-and-asean-must-learn-from-japans-landmark-worker-heat-protection-laws","story-version-id":"85082479-3dab-491c-843b-b50bfded5d57","content-type":"story","content-updated-at":1777307738526,"author-id":1851504,"owner-id":1949046,"linked-story-ids":[],"access":null,"promotional-message":"
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