The Ideas Page: For opposition, protests show way to a politics less particular, more universal 11 ThURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2026 JournALIsM of CourAge LuckNow, LAte city, 18 PAGeS ₹6.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA i Ly f R o M : A H M e DA b A D , c H A N D i GA R H , D e L H i , j A i P u R , ko L k AtA , L u c k N o w , M u M b A i , N AG P u R , PAt N A , P u N e , vA D o DA R A senate U.s.midterm 2026:tHe blUewave HoUse 54 100 SouRce: ASSociAteD PReSS Reps Reps 28 139 435 total Seats Dems to be called 234 44 GOVT OVERHAULS AGNIPATH SCHEmE stategovernors Dems Democrats Republicans total seats 20 Donald Lame Duck Trump America delivers stinging rebuke to Trump Midterm: Democrats sweep Congress, breach Republican bastions; after 2 years of chaotic regime, President humbled — and hemmed in Amrita Nayak Dutta Inflation, affordability behind rout; Vance blames it on Iran war Washington, November 4 DeMOCraTS SeizeD control of both the US Senate and houseofrepresentativesWednesday, scoring sweeping victories in republican strongholds for the first time in generations as tens of millions of voters delivered a scathing rebuke to President Donald Trump. business as Usual By EP UNNY a wave of anger over Trump’s policies, particularly the US-iran war’s role in pushing the cost of living higher, helped Democrats take the Senate, where they flipped seats in deeply republican states for a majority of at least 54-44, and the house of representatives, where they gained at least 25 seats. it will be the first time that Trump, a republican who also held the White house from »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi, November 4 OverhaUliNG The agnipath scheme, the Union Cabinet Wednesday approved a path for all agniveers undergoing training in the three services to join the armed Forces as regular soldiers. The process will have two stages. in the first step, 25 per cent of agniveers will be selected on merit for absorption into the services after completing their four-year tenure, as part of the original scheme. The remaining 75 per cent, who would have otherwise exited the services with a contributory scheme package, will now be offered an additional two-year engagement. Thereafter, they will have the oppor- at a democratic congressional campaign committee midterm watch party in Washington dc. ReuteRS Happening Verdict decoded: Why Abdul El-Sayed, son of Egyptian today Delhi must rediscover immigrants, first Muslim Senator and engage with the many Americas lPm Narendra Modi will meet Asian Para Games medallists. Rishika Singh New Delhi, November 4 Refresh 1990s-2000s playbook; work to seek friends across the aisle: Congress, business, campuses, beyond diaspora C Raja mohan New Delhi, November 4 tHe world stroNG showiNG by iNdiaN-ameriCaNs iN midterm polls ‘GreatameriCaN ComebaCK’:haKeem settomaKehistory trUmp Now faCes a starK ChoiCe oN iraN war explained paGe 9 red flaGs for trUmp tHe editorial page the better aNGels of demoCraCy have asserted themselves iN ameriCa paGe 10 Rajnath hails ‘second tour of duty’, CDS says move to boost op efficiency of forces chief of defence staff general n s raja subramani and Union i&B minister ashwini Vaishnaw in new delhi, Wednesday. ANiL SHARMA Trump at the White house Ballroom construction site, Wednesday. AP Brad Heath, Jason Lange, David morgan & Phil Stewart 2-year extension to 75% Agniveers opens permanent service door to all The DeMOCraTiC Party’s sweeping victory in the americanmidtermelectionspresents india with immediate and long-term imperatives in dealing with the United States, its most importantandcomprehensive partner for the foreseeable future. The immediate task is to step up engagement with the Trump administration, wrapupthelong-pendingbilateral trade agreement and advance cooperation in energy, defence and technology. The latest election is part of the enduring ebb and flow of american politics. The Democratic triumph this week does not guarantee it victory in the 2028 presidential election or continued Congressional domination in the next con- gressional cycle. instead of obsessing with mood swings in the american electorate, Delhi must rediscover america’s extraordinary political diversity and rebuild relationships across its rapidly changing political landscape. it is not just Trump who will fade from the scene in the coming years. Familiar Democratic figures—the Clintons,ObamaandBiden— are also yielding to a new generationrepresentingamore diverse america. if india was surprised by the power of the MaGa movement on the right, it must prepare for potential shocks from the rise of progressive forces on the Democratic side. More immediately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have two opportunities to meet Trump—at the east asia »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DeMOCraTiC CaNDiDaTe abdulel-SayedhaswonMichigan’sSenateraceintheUSmidterm elections, a historic first that will make him the country’s first Muslim Senator when he takes his seat in January 2027. an outspoken critic of israel, el-Sayed defeated former representative and republican candidate Mike rogers, who was making his second run for the Senate, in a closely watched and bitterly »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com democrat abdul el-sayed and his wife sarah Jukaku in detroit. AP karnaTaka ToWn geTs reason To celeBraTe, paGe 8 ‘Cautiously optimistic’: Delhi tracks shift after 18 months of rocky ties Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, November 4 FOrDelhi,theunpredictability of Donald Trump became morepronouncedeversincehe claimed to have brokered a ceasefire between india and Pakistanfollowinghostilitiesin May 2025, his whims and diktats sending bilateral relations on a roller coaster. On Wednesday, there was a collective sigh of relief in Delhi as Democrats seized control of both the Senate and house of representatives, placing guardrails on the President’s unchecked powers so far in the two years of his Presidency. South Block officials, who hadbeentrackingtheelections throughthenightTuesday,told The Indian Express that they were “cautiously optimistic” about the results after a yearand-half of turbulence in bilateral ties. From 50 per cent tariffs to restrictions on h1B visas, curbs on student visas to Trump’s proximity to Pakistan and US re-engagement with China, all these moves had bothered Delhiinthelast19months.and the war in West asia had led to risingcostsinenergypricesand had adversely impacted the indian economic environment. Geopolitically, Delhi will be looking at Trump’s moves in »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 tunity to join the armed Forces as regular soldiers, provided they are willing and meet the military’s objective selection criteria. This means that all agniveers will now have an opportunity to join the armed Forces as regular soldiers. Over three lakh agniveers are undergoing training at various stages in the three services. This includes around 2.8 lakh agniveers in the army, of whom around 19,000 will complete their initial tenure in four years. around 2,500 agniveers will completetheirfour-yeartenure in the Navy this month, and another 2,900 will complete their training as part of the first iaF batch next month. Chief of Defence Staff »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Uttar pradesH sC paNel waNts KUKrail NiGht safari projeCt re-examiNed U.p. traNsformatioN CommissioN sets Up advisory body p3 2.4 crore difference in UP panchayat & rural voter lists, CEO orders two rolls to be matched maulshree Seth Lucknow, November 4 inside The UTTar Pradesh Chief electoral Officer (CeO) has directed district election officers to match assembly electoral rolls with those of panchayats and urban local bodies after a difference of nearly 2.4 crore voters emerged between the panchayat poll electoral rolls andtheruralvotercountidentified during the preparation of the assembly electoral rolls in the state, sources in the election Commission said. While the voter roll for the panchayat elections is prepared by the State election Commission (SeC), the assembly voters’ list is made by the No Need for appreheNsioN: sC to voters oN form 6 paGe 7 election Commission through the office of CeO. The fresh name-matching exercise, which will take January 1, 2027, as the cut-off date, will help identify “eligible citizens”whosenamesaremissing from the assembly voters’ list, as part of the Special Summary revision-2027, sources said. as part of the exercise, assembly electoral rolls will be matched with panchayat and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l 27-Year-old Woman criTicallY inJUred, docTors saY comPleX case A bullet fired, night call: How 13-member team from India saved a life in Mauritius Divya A home from work in a van in a residential area south of Port louis on October 9 when she aBUlleTfirednearPortlouis, was hit by a bullet, allegedly a 27-year-old woman critically fired by a police officer. The injured, a night call for help — shooting triggered the most anda13-memberteamofmedi- seriousunrestindecadesinthe calspecialistsfromindia,mobi- indian Ocean island nation, lised overnight to save a life. with demonstrations, road These were the key elements of blockadesandattacksonpolice property. an unusual medical as the crisis esca“mission” involving page 1 lated, with the cirtwo countries cumstances that led that played out in to the shooting still Mauritius. according to officials, elo- under investigation, Prime die Thomas was returning Minister Navinchandra ramNew Delhi, November 4 anchor goolam called for restraint. For authoritiesinPortlouis,restoring law and order was just one half of the challenge — they had to treat the critically injured patient and save her life, too. Finally, on the night of October 10, health Minister anil Bachoo made a call to indian high Commissioner anurag Srivastava in Port louis. The indian authorities immediately reached out to KiMS hospital based in hyderabad. Doctors from the hospital group, in consultation with a local medical team, felt that @Hci_PoRtLouiS (left) elodie Thomas underwent surgery on october 12; high commissioner anurag srivastava with the indian medical team evacuating the patient to india wouldberiskyandthatamedi- cal team should reach Mauritiusassoonaspossibletocarry outtheintervention,officialsat the indian mission said. OnOctober12,a13-member team from the hospital group reached Mauritius and worked alongside local doctors to save Thomas’s life. The indian team includedfivedoctors,andeight specialists and technicians. Some members returned a day later while a few specialists involved in post-operative care stayedbackforafewmoredays, officials said. Today, Thomas’s health is showing massive improvement and she is able to take a few steps, said Dr rakesh Jalla, head of the indian delegation. Jalla and neurosurgeon Dr Kapil Khandelwal, who was also part of the delegation, listedthespeedofmobilisation, thecomplexityoftheoperation and the risks to which the young woman was exposed as their main challenges. according to the surgeons, the case was complex, mainly because of the trajectory of the bullet and the risks of neurological complications and infection. Jalla said the “mission” required rapid organisation and good coordination so that »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow